


The Big Four and the Mystery of Mother Gothel

by Florana



Series: The Big Four and The Wizarding School, or Seven Years at Hogwarts [2]
Category: Brave (2012), How To Train Your Dragon (book), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Rise of The Brave Tangled Dragons - Fandom, Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Disappearing, Fearlings, Gen, Hogwarts, Magic, Mystery, Witch - Freeform, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:05:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 58,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florana/pseuds/Florana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its a new year and everything is going smoothly...well until Mother Gothel steps into the picture. Can the Big Four survive another year together, especially when something strange starts happening at Hogwarts, and what's wrong with Jack? Sequel to The Big Four and the Wizarding School. A Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons Hogwarts AU. Human!Jack. No pairings.</p><p>Cross posted on FanFiction.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Here is year two, following my previous fic, The Big Four and the Wizarding School, it will most definitely contain spoilers for that fic, so I suggest reading that one first. I also will not be updating this for some time, probably until December, maybe even January. I just posted it so people who liked the first one can find it easily. This is just a teaser chapter.
> 
> I don't own Tangled, Brave, How To Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians or Hogwarts.

 

" _This is the story of how I died." -E_

" _Flynn Rider that is not true! You aren't even in this story! "_ -M

" _I'm there…sort of." -E_

" _Nope, you said it yourself last year. You won't be back in the story until Rapunzel's 18_ _th_ _." -J_

" _Oh, come on. I was doing things. Not just sitting around waiting for her to turn 18." -E_

" _So what? Just because you didn't pop out of existence does not mean you can narrate. " -M_

" _I asked him to. " -R_

" _Why? " -H_

" _As an impartial party, I figured his narration would be more reliable. " -R_

" _Flynn? Reliable? He doesn't even have consistency with his own name. " -J_

" _Rapunzel might have a point. Let's give him a chance. If he tries to exaggerate we can always interrupt him. " -H_

" _Fine. I'm game. " -M_

" _Me, too. " -J_

" _Good. Eugene? " -R_

" _Once upon a time, because if I told you exactly when you'd start saying I had 'historical inaccuracies,' there lived two princesses, the heir to a tribe of Vikings and a poor boy from England. One princess, the princess of the sun kingdom, was taken as a baby. Though her parents recovered her, they decided to hide her away in a tower to ensure that she was hidden from the world, at least until she could protect herself. She could accomplish this by going to Hogwarts._

_The other princess, from the Scottish Highlands, was the oldest child of the muggle king and queen. When they found out their daughter was a witch they agreed she could attend Hogwarts only if she focused on her training to become queen over the summer. The princess was so eager to learn magic she agreed._

_The heir to the tribe had thought he was a squib, a disgrace to his all magic tribe, until he got the letter from Hogwarts, the first school that thought it could teach him how to cast spells._

_The poor boy, just a kid having fun, had always figured he'd have a normal life, working hard to support his mother and sister, but the letter from Hogwarts changed all that._

_Last year, the four students experienced their first year at Hogwarts. The highland princess learned to put aside her prejudice for Slytherins (more or less). The heir cast his first spell with his left hand, the poor boy found friends, and the sun princess found freedom._

_Along the way to friendship, they had adventures, including one in the forest, where they encountered the terrifying, black sand horses, also called Nightmares. The only unfortunate part was that none of them ever found out where the Nightmares came from._

_I was the only one who knew that the mysterious man behind the plot was none other than Professor Pitch Black. But before I could warn the first years, he expelled me._

_Now they are poised to enter their second year … I only hope they can survive without my help."_


	2. Birthday in the Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Almost New Year! I actually finished the rough draft before 2014! Yay! I should have a new chapter up once a week, until it's finished (meanwhile I'll get to work on writing year three).
> 
> This story contains multiple references to the book series, both How to Train Your Dragon and the Guardians of Childhood, but I don't think there are any spoilers, at least nothing that wasn't spoiled by the films. If you haven't read them, no worries, you should be able to follow everything as though the characters or plot elements from the books were OCs. I own nothing.

 

Rapunzel flitted back and forth, polishing the banister, sweeping the floor, doing a last bit of laundry, mopping and just shining up the tower in general. Today was a very important day.

For the first time she could remember, someone besides Mother Gothel would get to see the inside of the tower, three someones: Jack Frost, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and Merida, Princess of Castle Dunbroch. Although she made quite a few friends at Hogwarts last year, these three were the only students who knew the secret of her hair.

With a last sweep of her brush, Rapunzel cleared out the fireplace... just in time, too. No sooner did she get the last ash out than green flames flared up and an auburn haired boy stepped out.

"Happy birthday, Rapunzel," he said holding out a small package. Before the girl could take it, a woman dressed all in red strolled in, taking the present and standing between the girl and boy.

"Well, you must be one of Rapunzel's little friends. Let me guess, Jake?" Gothel set the box on a table

"Hiccup, actually," the boy replied dryly, "and his name is Jack."

"Hiccup," Rapunzel said, "this is my…Mother Gothel."

"Hi." Hiccup held out his hand but Gothel didn't take it.

"Now Rapunzel, no need to be so formal, just call me Mother, dear."

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel said softly.

"There now, that's a good girl. Have fun entertaining your friends. I'll go work on the hazelnut soup." Gothel left the room with a large amount of swagger. Hiccup stared after her.

"She's not your real mother, right?" Hiccup asked.

"No. But Mother Gothel has taken care of me my whole life. I owe her everything."

"What about your real parents? Aren't they going to come to your party?"

"No. They have to stay at the palace and pretend to be in mourning for me. I'm the lost princess remember? They have to pretend that they don't know where I am for all the muggles in the kingdom."

"Have you ever met your parents?"

"Well…no, Mother Gothel thinks bad people might follow them if they tried to visit me. But I get letters, and tonight they'll release thousands of floating lights to let me know they remember."

Before Hiccup could ask more questions, the fireplace lit up and a girl with wild red hair stepped out carrying a large box.

"Ack, I hope I'm not late. Took them long enough to get my fireplace connected. Mum didn' want just any old wizards to be able to come to Castle Dunbroch, but I convinced her that it was impractical to be traveling all the way to London by carriage, only to travel by train back up to Scotland. Takes too much time out of vacation."

"How are you, Merida?" Hiccup asked as Rapunzel set the gift on a table by the kitchen.

"Don't ask. It's been nothing but work at home. And I thought this was going to be a vacation!"

"It can't be that bad back home, with your family?"

"It can. Mother's still a bit busy with the triplets, but Maudie's taken over most of their care. I know I promised I'd commit meself over the summer, but really, I thought it would end when the triplets were born. Why can't she be botherin' them? They're going to rule, right?"

"They are less than a year old," Hiccup said, "aren't they?"

"Aye. But still, you'd think Mum would be too busy with them to bother with me. The only upside to bein' back home is that I never have to run into any Slyther-"

Before she could finish the statement, the fireplace lit up and Jack Frost stepped out.

"Hey, Princess. You weren't about to insult me, were you?"

"How many times must I tell you, do not call me that!"

"What, Princess?"

"Yes!"

"Ok, your majesty, or do you prefer your highness?" Jack smirked and gave a mocking bow. Merida glared at him, rolling up her sleeves in preparation to attack.

Rapunzel flinched, twisting her braided hair.

"Guys, please? Do you have to fight?" Hiccup said.

"He started it!" Merida said, but after a glance at Rapunzel and Hiccup's frowns she added, "Sorry, Rapunzel."

"It's ok," Rapunzel said, a small smile creeping back onto her face.

"So, what's been going on over your summer?" Jack asked.

"Not much. I charted the stars on the ceiling and made a few new paintings." Rapunzel gestured to the circular walls of the tower, brightly painted with images of flowers, suns, and Rapunzel dancing.

"Still love to paint, eh?" Hiccup asked examining the painted flowers coming up from the staircase.

"It's a way to pass time," Rapunzel answered. "What about your summer?"

"Same ol', same ol'. I guess Dad's happy now that I've cast a few spells for him, not that you could tell considering he never smiles. I still have a bit of trouble keeping up with the others. They've had all year to practice; I'm still playing catch up."

"Don't worry. By the end of this year you should be all caught up," Jack reassured him. "After all, if you could teach me all I know, I'm sure you'll be able to teach yourself."

"Maybe." Hiccup added, "What about your summer?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Taught my sister how to swim, pulled a prank and got grounded, and Mother decided I was old enough to start helping around town. I've been helping Mr. Burgess out by herding his sheep. He said if I do a good job this summer he'll give me a sheep."

"I can't picture you herdin' sheep," Merida said.

"Oh, but it's so much fun, especially with my broom."

"How do you use a broom to herd sheep?" Hiccup asked.

"One, flying on it is totally fun, even if it is for a mundane activity like herding sheep, and two, the top is curved, like a shepherd's staff. That's actually what gave me the idea to try and get shepherd work. Mother gets the money, Mr. Burgess gets a shepherd, and I get to practice flying. Everyone wins."

"Except the sheep," Merida said. "They have to put up with you."

"At least the sheep are better company than you," Jack replied, sticking out his tongue. Merida turned on him.

"That's it!" Merida lunged at Jack, but Hiccup stepped between them, holding Merida back, while Jack laughed. Rapunzel's brow creased. If Mother saw them like this she'd never let Rapunzel invite anyone up to her tower.

"OK! That's enough!" Hiccup said. "Why don't we look at Rapunzel's paintings?"

Merida took a deep breath and Jack stopped laughing, both calming a little.

"Thanks, guys," Rapunzel said. "The last thing I need is for Mother to think I can't even keep control over my own party."

"Sorry, Rapunzel," Jack said.

"Why don't we go up to my room?" The kids nodded and followed Rapunzel up the staircase.

* * *

From the kitchen, Gothel listened to the children, jumping up as soon as she was certain they were in Rapunzel's room. Gothel ran to the table where Rapunzel had set Merida's present.

Gothel cursed as she noted the box was tied with twine. It would be impossible to open it without cutting through the rope. Gothel began to shake the item, listening for anything that sounded heavy or dangerous.

"Looking for something?" A voice came out of the shadows causing Gothel to jump several feet in the air, dropping the present. She watched in horror as the item fell, praying whatever was inside wasn't fragile.

But before the box came crashing down, a pair of black clad arms came out of the shadow, catching it without a sound. Gothel focused on the arms, making out the dark shape of a man.

"You scared me," Gothel said taking the item back from the man and setting it back on the table.

"Now, now, we both know there's only one thing you fear."

"What do you want, Pitch?"

"My dear Gothel, I'm surprised you were not expecting me, seeing as how you failed to keep your end of our deal."

"What difference does it make? The flower is gone. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"The flower may be gone, but its light is not. I'm surprised you didn't remember; must have slipped your mind. Indeed, I was quite surprised when the girl showed up at school last year, even more so when she used her hair for the very reason I tried to have you hide it from the world."

"She…She used her hair?" Gothel said, stunned.

"Yessss," Pitch hissed. "To fight off my Nightmares! When I gave you that flower, I entrusted you to keep it from being used to hurt my army! You have failed!"

"I tried to keep her under wraps! I've sealed the door to this tower, the only way in or out is by Floo powder or shadow travel. But she had to be a witch, just like her parents! You know you can't hide from wizards without a fidelius charm, and I haven't been able to cast a spell in over two centuries."

"I did warn you that excessive use of the flower would deteriorate your natural magic."

"Who cares if I have magic? All I want is Rapunzel, and her hair."

"As it happens, we want the same thing. Rapunzel's hair is harmful to my army; on top of that, she and her friends have seen my herd. They do not know what they have seen, but if they were to tell one of the other professors, particularly those who moonlight as Guardians, it would be highly damaging to my plans. I need to keep the students silent."

"Just obliterate their minds," Gothel suggested.

"Too risky. Obliteration works great on Slytherin students. As their head of house, I can claim I used it to stop a large scale feud, but the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students might be discovered. Toothiana can detect a memory charm a mile away."

"Then why not just kill them? All but Rapunzel, of course."

"I tried that. They got away. Anyway, if three students, two of whom are not in my house, died under suspicious circumstances it may lead to the very thing I am trying to prevent. For all I know they may have already told someone, and while my Nightmares might be dismissed as a fantasy now, after a death that information could be looked into in greater detail. I need a way to strengthen the Nightmares before any investigation, and you need to find a way to keep her hair from weakening them anymore than it already has."

"And how do you expect me to do that? I can't keep Rapunzel from the school, much as I'd like to."

"But you can, IF she wants to leave, or IF her parents decide the school is too dangerous for their child."

"I've been trying! But only seeing her over the summer and Christmas has made it extremely hard to do. If only I could follow her to Hogwarts. Then I wouldn't have to rely on her rejuvenation potions while she's away and I would have more control."

"I believe we can arrange something…," Pitch said with a menacing grin.

* * *

"So, Rapunzel?" Hiccup started. "When are you heading down to Diagon Alley for your school supplies? Maybe we could meet up?"

"Um…I don't think Mother will let me. She doesn't like it when I leave the tower," Rapunzel said, pulling on her hair.

"Aw, come on. Don't tell me you stay inside all summer?" Jack said, hanging down from one of the rafters. "That's no fun."

"It's fine, I'm safe here," Rapunzel said. "And it's not like I have nothing to do. I can always paint. And there's work, I have to keep the tower clean, cook, and make candles and new dresses when I grow, not to mention brushing my hair."

"I couldn't stand doin' tha'," Merida said. "Though Mum would probably want me to."

"It's not so bad. Those things need doing; as long as I'm here I might as well do them," Rapunzel defended herself.

"I'm sure they don't mean any offence," Hiccup said. "Right?"

"Of course not," Jack answered dropping from the ceiling landing on his feet. "Just that I couldn't stand it."

"Me, neither," Merida added.

"Did you see that Rapunzel?" Hiccup asked.

"What?" Rapunzel said, looking around her bedroom. Everything looked normal.

"Jack and Merida. They finally agreed on something!" Immediately Jack and Merida started trying to deny it, swearing up and down that they didn't mean it, saying Hiccup and Rapunzel must have misunderstood.

Hiccup and Rapunzel shared a chuckle as with each protest Merida and Jack's faces got redder and redder. Eventually their protests turned into mild jabs at each other, followed by much laughter. They were having so much fun they hardly noticed the time passing.

Before they knew it, it was time for dinner. The kids ate their hazelnut soup quickly in the kitchen before insisting that Rapunzel open her presents.

The table was piled high with boxes, small and large. Rapunzel took the small one Hiccup had brought first. Opening it, she pulled out a small telescope.

"I know you're always looking out your window; I thought this might help you. I made it myself," Hiccup said.

"I love it. Thank you." Rapunzel put the telescope up to her eye. "This will be perfect for watching the lanterns tonight."

Setting the telescope down, Rapunzel picked up Merida's large package. Inside she found a dartboard and a set of darts.

"I wanted to get you a bow, like the one my dad gave me for my birthday years ago, but Mum wouldn't allow it. Said it wasn't a good gift for a princess. Figured you could work on your aim with the darts, and maybe next year I can get you the bow."

"Thank you, Merida." Rapunzel moved on to the next package, a large box from her real parents that contained a guitar. The last present on the table turned out to be white paint from Mother Gothel.

"I hope you appreciate this, Rapunzel. It took me nearly three days to walk to the beach and collect the white shells to make the paint."

"Thank you." Rapunzel hugged Mother before stepping back to examine the walls. There must be room for a new painting somewhere.

"Don't forget mine!" Jack said, drawing Rapunzel away from the walls. Jack pulled a small bag out from inside his vest. Gently Rapunzel took the grubby little bag. Through the thin cloth she felt small odd shapes. Setting the bag on the table she slowly opened it. To her surprise, a bunch of small wood chips fell out.

"A puzzle?" Rapunzel said excitedly examining the pieces.

"I figured you could use something fun."

"Thank you. What's it a picture of?"

"Only one way to find out." With a smile, Rapunzel and her friends cleared off the table and begun working on solving the puzzle, which turned out to be a picture of a hummingbird. Afterward they played darts and took turns seeing how far they could spot things outside the tower with the telescope. Rapunzel also gave the guitar a try, though she quickly abandoned it, deciding to practice when she was alone instead, and began painting the guitar.

As the sun set, Gothel brought out cookies for the children to munch on as they gazed into the twilight sky, waiting for the lights to appear. Rapunzel watched in wonder as the river of lights softly floated up from beyond the forest into the night sky, creating a path back to the palace. A path meant for her. Someday, she'd follow that path home.


	3. The Diagon Alley Challenge

"We're going to be late," Merida whined, gazing out the carriage window. "Why couldn't we just use the Floo powder?"

"I'll not trust that magic nonsense," King Fergus replied. "You're not gettin' me inside a chimney stack. I'm not Santa Claus."

"Mum did it last year."

"Aye, but yehr mum can't leave the triplets. Anyway, I thought yeh'd be glad o' the break. No lessons on the road, eh."

"It's a nice break, but I told my friends I'd meet them by Gringotts. At this rate we won't even be there the same week, let alone the same day."

"Don't you trust Angus, lass? Or have you forgotten how fast yer own horse can go after you spent a year with wizards. He'll get us there. Don'tch yeh worry."

Merida sighed and resigned herself to looking out the window. If only she were riding Angus, at least she'd have the wind in her hair. Though her dad was right, it was nice not to be reprimanded for every little thing.

As it turned out, they made it to Diagon Alley in the early afternoon, though Hiccup and Jack were already there. To her dismay both boys already had their supplies.

"Couldn't yeh wait for me?" Merida said. "I wouldn't have rushed so, if I'd known."

"Mom couldn't stay long. We had to leave my sister at home alone, so we bought the stuff and Mom took it home. I have my broom, so I can fly home when we're done here." Jack lifted the stick at his side.

"You sure Jack?" Hiccup asked. "Don't you live miles away? Can you really fly there?"

"Hey, this broom and me. We're like one. I think its time in the forbidden forest made it faster. I feel like I could travel the whole globe in less than an hour," Jack answered.

"And what's your excuse?" Merida said turning on Hiccup.

"Sorry, Dad wants me to buy my supplies on Berk, you know, support local business. But I did convince him I needed new robes. I told him I felt a growth spurt coming on. He looked so proud, just like when my letter came. I hope a growth spurt really does come on, otherwise, not only will I be the worst wizard on Berk, but I'll be the smallest Viking, too."

"Don't let me dad hear yeh say tha'," Merida cautioned.

"What? He has a phobia of people on the small side?"

"Nay, of Vikings. They invaded Scotland when I was a wee girl. He banded the lords together t' fight them off so they named him king."

"Not my tribe. Aside from a few search and destroy missions for the Dragons' Nest, school, and a few odd diplomatic meetings with the others in the archipelago, no one has left Berk for three hundred years. Certainly not to invade anywhere. Berkians don't do that. Could have been the Berserkers, I suppose, or maybe the Outcasts."

"I don't care who it was. Dad wouldn't like it. Do not tell my dad you're a Viking."

"Hey, Merida?" Jack said. "Your dad doesn't happen to have red hair, a peg leg, and a kilt, does he?"

"Aye, tha' him."

"He's standing right behind you." Merida turned and jumped as King Fergus picked her up in a tight embrace.

"So this is where you run off to, lass? And these are the friends you been so keen t' tell me 'bout."

"Aye. Dad, this is Hiccup, and the Slytherin."

"Hey!" Jack said. "It's not like I'm the only Slytherin."

"I know tha' but you are the only one I know."

"Now you know that's not true! Not only did you meet other students, but some of our professors probably came from Slytherin, too," Jack said. A smirk grew on his face. "We're here at the busiest wizard shopping center in all of England, I bet a quarter of the people here, including shop owners you met last year, were in Slytherin."

"Oh, you're on, Jack Frost. If you're right, I'll do your history homework all year."

"Nice try, but you're worse at history than I am. How about, you have to learn the names of all the Slytherins currently attending Hogwarts?"

"That'll take forever!"

"What's the matter? Afraid of losing?"

"No way! But if I win, you have to write a page detailing all the virtues of Gryffindors."

"You're on!" Jack grabbed his broom and he and Merida took off to the nearest store.

* * *

Hiccup watched as Merida and Jack raced from store to store.

"Ha! Tha's me girl! Go on!" King Fergus called out to his daughter. Hiccup eyed the large man warily. The king didn't look that much different from his own father, Stoick the Vast, all be it without his left leg and beard. Even his helmet could pass for a Viking helmet if horns were added. And yet, according to Merida, he hated Vikings.

Hiccup glanced over his shoulder, not sure if he wanted Gobber to return or not. Gobber would certainly be good protection (hence why Stoick sent him) if this wild king, who was loudly and rambunctiously cheering on Merida, did turn on him for being a Viking. On the other hand, it would be hard to mistake Gobber for anything but a Viking, with his horned helmet and ax, not to mention his tendency to loudly announce that he was a Viking.

Before Hiccup could come to a decision, Gobber popped out of Gringotts. King Fergus had his back to the bank, watching Merida as she taunted Jack over the last store owner being a Gryffindor. Slowly and quietly Hiccup made his way to Gobber. If only he could get to Gobber before the king noticed them. Unfortunately, Gobber either didn't notice Hiccup, or mistook his gesture to be quiet as an invitation to talk.

"Those goblins may be a stuffy lot, but they do have a few things on us when it comes t' their outhouses." Hiccup winced as Gobber announced to all of Diagon Alley exactly what he'd been doing in Gringots.

"Lord Macintosh?" King Fergus asked turning towards Gobber. As soon as the king spotted Gobber, he quickly retracted, "Sorry, thought you were someone else."

"He he, tha's ok. It's not like you mistook me for a yak, or anything," Gobber said. To Hiccup's relief, the king laughed.

"Aye, but yeh do sound like Lord Macintosh," the king chuckled, "though there's no comparison in body."

The king didn't seem to have noticed that Gobber was a Viking.

"Uh, Gobber, this is Merida's dad. And this is my…Gobber," Hiccup introduced the two.

"I'd love to hear more about this lord whom I sound so much like. Care to tell me over a pint?"

"Aye, after yeh tell me what bear took yer arm and leg."

"'Twas no bear, but a dragon. I'd love t' hear the story behind yours."

"I saw something that day…Something I'll not forget…" The King and Gobber walked down to a nearby pub leaving Hiccup on his own. Hiccup turned back to Jack and Merida.

He found the two outside the pet shop arguing over whether or not they should count people who didn't even go to Hogwarts.

"When I said a quarter, I meant of Hogwarts graduates," Jack explained.

"But you said a quarter of all shop owners, or are you scared you're going to lose?"

"You wish."

"Sorry, Jack. Merida is right," Hiccup said joining up with them. "You never specified where the other three quarters came from."

"Ha!" Merida snapped at Jack. Hiccup smiled and followed them as they continued their census of Diagon Alley employees. After visiting every shop (with Merida buying her school supplies along the way) the trio sat down on the steps of Gringotts to count the numbers.

"…5 said they were in Slytherin…13 Hufflepuff…8 Ravenclaw…3 Gryffindor, and 4 from different wizarding schools, plus 3 who didn't attend school at all."

"Sorry Jack, but a quarter of 36 is 9," Hiccup said. "I guess Merida wins."

"Aw! No fair! I demand a rematch." Despite Jack's protests, the competition had been quite fun for all of them; even Hiccup was enjoying himself.

"Oh, go ahead, have your rematch, the answers will be the same. I'm more interested to know why there weren't more Gryffindors," Merida said.

"'Cause no one would shop here if it were run by by pigheaded redheads like you," Jack said automatically before quickly turning to Hiccup. "Uh, no offense to you or your dad that is."

"That's ok. We do tend to have stubbornness issues."

The kids leaned back watching the clouds float across the sky. So strange to see such clear blueness. Hiccup wondered if that was what Berk would look like without the dragons' attacks. No lingering ash or clouds of dust drifting in from the Dragons' Nest. Then he laughed. Even without the dragon attacks, Berk could never be this warm, even in July. Hiccup watched as a long fluffy cloud took the shape of a girl with long hair trailing behind her.

"Hey guys?" Hiccup asked. "What are we going to do about Rapunzel?"

"What do mean?" Jack said.

"Something's…off…with her 'mother' or whatever we're supposed to call her."

"I didn't notice anything," Jack said.

"Yeah, she didna' seem as controlling as my mother."

"Maybe it is in my head…I mean I hardly knew my mother when she…" Hiccup couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"I understand. It's the same thing with my dad," Jack said. "He left before we even knew Emma was coming. I don't remember him at all. But I don't think we should worry about Rapunzel. Even if you're right and something is wrong, it's not like her mother is coming to school with us. We'll be there if Rapunzel needs us."

"Aye. I'll not let anyone hurt her," Merida agreed.


	4. Storytime on the Train

"Be careful!" Jack's mother said waving her son off.

"I will," Jack called out with a laugh before darting onto the train. Getting his trunk in the luggage bin seemed a lot easier this year. Maybe because he had grown a whole inch over the summer or maybe it had something to do with stronger muscles from herding sheep.

Jack scoured the train, glad none of his friends were there yet. While he would love to ride in with them, his current search was his alone. He was searching for Flynn Rider.

At the end of last year, Flynn had left suddenly. Jack checked every train car but Flynn was nowhere to be found. In his heart, Jack knew Flynn wasn't going to be there. He'd been told that Flynn wouldn't return this year, but he hadn't fully believed it until now.

Jack ended up settling down in an empty cabin, gazing out the window waiting to see which of his friends would show up first. It was too bad his mother couldn't stay, but they'd decided Floo powder was too expensive to waste bringing Emma to the station when she wasn't even going on the train. Unfortunately, this meant his mother had to return home almost as soon as she arrived. Jack wondered if this might be the last time his mother bothered to venture down to the station with him. It was a somewhat depressing thought, being alone.

Jack drew his knees up to his chest as he watched other families scramble aboard. Some of them he recognized from classes, but the majority he'd seen only in hallways. It didn't really matter, Jack thought. No matter where he remembered them from, they never seemed to notice him. Strange how one summer back with friends in Burgess could make him forget what it felt like to be invisible.

The invisibility did not last for long; Merida popped out of the fireplace at the back of the platform, a plump woman in a wimple assisting her with the trunk. Jack leaned out the window and waved her over. Even Merida's company was preferable to being alone.

Merida scowled when she spotted him, making Jack break out into a bigger grin just to annoy her. He could definitely have some fun with her before the others arrive. Jack watched Merida and the woman heave the trunk into the luggage compartment. Silently he wished for gravity to play a trick on them and dump the trunk on Merida, retaliation for a trick she played last year. But no such luck. Merida got her trunk up without a problem and joined Jack in the cabin.

"Just my luck you'd be the first body here," Merida said as she plopped down on the seat across from Jack.

"Like I wanted to spend time alone with you," Jack spat back.

"Oh come off it! You coulda hidden from me, like yeh did last year. Let's not repeat that. I doubt professor Bunnymund'd let me off again."

"For the last time! I never hid from you!"

"Then explain t' me how you disappeared like tha'? I swear I couldn' see you."

"Get your eyes checked, I was there."

"Well duh! O' course you were there, but you were hidin' from me."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!" Jack and Merida became so caught up in their argument, neither noticed Hiccup until he stepped into the cabin.

"Can you two knock it off, at least during the trip?" Hiccup pleaded sitting next to Jack.

"She started it!"

"No, he started it, Last yea-"

"I don't care who started it!" Hiccup said forcefully; something that took Jack by surprise. He didn't know Hiccup had a forceful setting. Hiccup sighed and continued, "I don't mind your constant squabbling, but Rapunzel does. So can you guys tone it down?"

"We're just having fun," Jack said.

"Rapunzel's not used to constant fighting. If you must fight, do it somewhere else."

"I don't see what th' big deal is, she's not even here!" Merida complained crossing her arms.

"Oh, yes, she is." Hiccup pointed out the window onto the platform. There across the station Rapunzel struggled to pull a large trunk across the floor. Jack and Merida jumped up immediately, leaving the cabin to assist their friend.

"Man, what do you have in here Rapunzel?" Jack asked as he and Merida attempted to lift the trunk into the luggage rack.

"Oh, you know: school supplies, clothes, cauldrons, books, my frying pan."

"Frying pan?" Merida exclaimed as she and Jack finally got the trunk set up. "You're not going to cooking school! You're going to magic school! Why would you need a frying pan?"

Rapunzel's brow creased with worry, "Mother Gothel thought I might need it. She said I might have to do some cooking this year."

"That wasn't in the letter," Jack said as the group settled back in the cabin.

"I know, but Mother said it could be useful, so into the trunk it went."

"I'd not bring a frying pan t' school with me. Why, I'd rather turn into a bear tha' brin' borin' work with me t' school," Merida said.

"Thinking about bears a lot, Merida?" Hiccup asked.

"I just spent the summer with the bear king. It's hard not to be thinkin' of them around my father," Merida replied.

"Let me get this straight. You'd rather have to forage for food, scaring your friends and family, unable to communicate with people than bring a useful tool to school. Wow. I can't believe I understood you," Jack said with a grin.

"Well, it sounds bad when you say it like tha'!" Merida snapped, sticking her tongue out at Jack. Jack returned the gesture before noticing Hiccup's glare. Sheepishly Jack turned away from the girl, focusing on the platform outside the train as the four settled into their cabin.

To his displeasure, someone Jack disliked more than Merida was out there. Derek, a Slytherin in the same year as Jack, was loading his stuff. Why couldn't he be the one who had to leave for personal problems instead of Flynn? Jack turned back to Merida. If he had to look at someone he didn't like, he'd rather it be a friend.

Rapunzel and Hiccup were having a conversation about what spells they thought they'd learn this year. Merida watched them with a bored expression. This wouldn't do, none of them were having any fun. With a smirk, Jack pulled his wand out from his vest. Muttering under his breath, Jack levitated a lock of Merida's hair.

At first the girl didn't notice. Jack became bolder. Twisting larger clumps of hair under her chin until she looked as though she'd grown a beard. Jack couldn't stop himself from chuckling, drawing the attention of Rapunzel and Hiccup. Rapunzel was the first to notice Merida, giving a small giggle. Hiccup also laughed when he saw Merida, before giving Jack a stern look that clearly said to cut it out. Finally Merida herself noticed, and boy, did she explode.

Her face got so red Jack wouldn't have been surprised if steam started to come out of her ears. Jack couldn't hold it back any longer; he burst out into the biggest, most joyful laugh he could muster. Merida gave Jack a good scolding before joining in the laughter.

Jack kept her from being too mad by making silly faces and sharing funny folk stories from Burgess. Soon the quartet became engaged in trying to outdo each other with the best story. Merida first told a legend from the Highlands.

"Once, when my family was out on holiday, not so very far from Castle Dunbroch, I wandered away from the camp. Deeper and deeper into the woods I crept, the shadows falling fast. I feared I was lost. A twig cracked behind me, but before I could panic, what should appear in front of me but a will 'o the wisp! I tried to catch it, but it vanished; another one appeared a few feet away. The wisps led me back to camp, but the demon Bear Mor'du followed me! I attacked it, naturally. I almost had it, but then it knocked my sword away, luckily my dad was near. But his sword did no better! Whoosh! One swipe and his sword shattered, then CHOMP! Dad's leg was clean off. Mor'du has never been seen since, though you can hear him roaming the woods, waiting for a chance at revenge!"

"That never happened!" Jack accused.

"Tell that to my dad's leg."

"Demon bear? Really?!" Rapunzel asked timidly.

"Oh, aye. Even before my dad lost his leg, Mor'du was well known. The legend's been around since the time of the Ancient Kingdom."

"Bet you made the whole thing up," Jack said.

"I did not! It's one hundred percent true."

"And how long ago was this? When you took on an ancient demon bear? You're only twelve now-"

"Eleven. I turn twelve in two weeks," Merida corrected him.

"Even worse, so you expect me to believe a little girl could fight off a bear."

"You're just sour 'cause it's better than you're glackit folk legends."

"Hiccup?" Jack asked.

"Stupid folk legends," Hiccup translated. Jack angrily turned back to Merida.

"Hey! My legends are not stupid!"

"Jack?" Hiccup interjected. "Remember what I said about fighting? Anyway, it's my turn to tell a tale. How about the legend of Grimbeard the Ghastly?"

"Grimbeard was my great-great-grandfather and also the greatest pirate who ever lived. He sailed the seven seas and acquired the largest treasure anyone has ever seen. They say it's so big that even the gods were jealous, so jealous that they cursed Grimbeard. Thor the Thunderer sent a storm that drove Grimbeard into Breakneck Bog. Up until that time, Breakneck Bog had been a lovely vacation spot for families, a beloved holiday getaway, but the moment Grimbeard's boat crashed on the shore all life on the island ceased. They say Grimbeard's spirit still haunts the bog, in the form of a fog monster. It destroys any ship that sails too close, ever guarding Grimbeard's treasure. So careful if you're ever sailing in the Barbaric Archipelago, avoid the dreaded fog monster and ghost of Grimbeard the Ghastly by avoiding Breakneck Bog."

"Dragons? Pirates? Ghosts? Fog monsters? How do you sleep?" Rapunzel asked drawing her knees up to her chest giving a shiver.

"Well, I've never actually seen a ghost and I don't really believe in a fog monster, and the dragons usually keep the pirates away from Berk. The dragons are a bit of a problem, but it's not like they raid us every night. The warriors can usually handle them."

"I wish we had dragons or fog monsters at Castle Dunbroch. Anything to make mum cancel lessons."

"Oh yes, god forbid you actually have to do any work," Jack said sarcastically. "If I ever acquire the power to make people cancel lessons, I'll be sure to help you escape responsibility."

Merida's nostrils flared, she leapt up shaking her fist in his face, "Jack Frost! You don't know anythin' about responsibility! If by some miracle you did gain the power to make mum call off the lessons, I bet you'd make it so everyone but me-"

"OK!" Hiccup interjected. "Can you guys finish this argument later, Rapunzel hasn't had a go yet. Do you have a story to share, Rapunzel?"

"…um, well, Mother Gothel never exactly told me any legends…well, except the one about my hair…but I did hear a rumor last year, it seemed pretty old. You remember what they said about the founders? Right? Well, apparently one of the founders left a hidden room in the school, a secret chamber. They say he hid a monster in the chamber. It can only be released by the heir, who will use the beast to carry out his evil plans."

"What evil plans?" Merida asked.

"Which founder?" Hiccup added.

"I…I don't remember which founder. I think the evil plans had something to do with the students, maybe he wanted to make this an all boy's school? It was something like that."

"All boys? So it must have been Slytherin or Gryffindor," Hiccup said.

"Or was it to make it an all girl's school?" Rapunzel added hesitantly.

"So then it would be Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw," Jack added.

"I'm not even sure if that rumor was true, it was just something the older students were talking about, I think a seventh year was writing a paper on it, for all I know he was making it up," Rapunzel said. "Don't tell mother I told you, or about any of the legends you told me. She wouldn't want me to be exposed to anything scary like that."

"You call those legends scary?" Jack asked, giving a mischievous grin. "The only thing scary about any of those stories was that Merida made it out of her bear encounter alive to terrorize Hogwarts."

"HEY!" Merida snapped at Jack.

"Guys, I think we're here," Hiccup interrupted. All four students watched out the window as the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmeade station, each wondering what the new year would hold.


	5. The Start of Term

"I wonder how we're getting to the castle?" Rapunzel asked as the four students left the train.

"I guess we follow the older students?" Jack suggested. The four students started to follow an older Ravenclaw girl Rapunzel identified as Clarisse. The girl led them down to where multiple carriages were lined up. Rapunzel watched as each carriage filled and took off all on its own. Excitedly, she ran to an empty one. Jack and Merida followed but Hiccup hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked, leaning over the side.

"You guys can't see it, can you?" Hiccup said as he slowly walked to the carriage, skirting the front.

"I see a sweet ride," Jack said lounging on the back seat. "I've never been in such a comfy carriage. The best part it, it pulls itself. Maybe I could steal one of these so we wouldn't have to use so much Floo Powder."

"Uh, Jack? I don't think it's pulling itself. I'm pretty sure it's hooked up to a thestral."

Rapunzel jumped out of the carriage. Merida and Jack examined the front. Jack said, "A what'll? I don't see anything."

"A thestral. It's a winged horse that can't be seen by most people…except those who've seen death. I've heard it's related to the Night Fury."

"Uh, Hiccup? That doesn't exactly clarify things," Jack said. "I've never heard of a Night Fury either."

"Some people do doubt their existence, no one has ever seen a Night Fury, but they tend to do the most damage on Berk. Your only warning is the awful shriek just before the Night Fury blows something up."

"But thestrals don't blow stuff up, do they?" Rapunzel asked, having moved behind Hiccup.

"No - the association with the Night Fury is because of their relationship with death. I don't think the Night Fury is invisible either; it's just so fast nobody's ever seen one. Thestrals aren't supposed to be dangerous…I don't think."

"Well, somebody had to hook this thing up to the carriage," Jack pointed out. "The professors wouldn't attach anything dangerous."

"Aye," Merida agreed beckoning Rapunzel. "It can't be any worse than that herd of horses we encountered last year. Let this beast go wild. I'll show it who's boss."

Slowly Rapunzel and Hiccup got back into the carriage, both opting for the back seat while Jack and Merida took the front. Hiccup kept his eyes on the animal pulling the carriage, but soon the other three became absorbed in the changing scenery as they neared the castle. They'd seen it before, when leaving the school last year and for Christmas break, but the sight of Hogwarts drawing nearer still took Rapunzel's breath away.

After the short trip, the students stepped out of the carriage and had to part ways. Merida raced off to join her Gryffindor friends at their table in the Great Hall. Hiccup waved to them as he went to join the Hufflepuffs. Rapunzel spotted a few of her friends from Ravenclaw and went to join them, Jack reluctantly left to sit at the Slytherins' table.

As the last students filed in and took their seats, Rapunzel felt a wave of excitement for the new year. Happily she listened as Headmaster Ombric announced the Start-of-Term and began the sorting ceremony. New students came in and lined up to be sorted.

Rapunzel half paid attention, wondering how many of the students would end up in Ravenclaw with her, but just as a first year girl with the tangliest blonde hair Rapunzel had ever seen was announced as a Slytherin, Rapunzel's eye caught someone standing in the shadows of the head table.

Forgetting the rest of the school, Rapunzel focused on the dark shape, curly black hair and a very familiar red dress. _It can't be,_ Rapunzel thought, just then the figure shifted coming into light. It was. Mother Gothel was standing behind the teachers' table.

Rapunzel almost fell off her chair as soon as she realized it. How could Mother be here? Why was Mother here? Why hadn't she told Rapunzel she would be here, unless she only decided to come after Rapunzel got on the train?

Rapunzel spent the remainder of the feast pondering these questions, paying no attention to where the first years went or what announcements were made at all. Rapunzel hardly noticed questions directed at her, be it from first years questioning her immensely long hair, to old friends asking how her summer went. Even the food lost its glory and eating became just a reflex.

Rapunzel mechanically followed the other students up to their room in the Ravenclaw tower; her belongings were neatly arranged at the foot of the bed she inhabited last year. As the other girls conversed about summer break and spells they'd learned, Rapunzel collapsed on her bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Jack Frost was not having fun. The evening had taken a turn for the worse almost as soon as he left Rapunzel. None of the other Slytherins would talk to him, or acknowledge him at all. Summer break had almost made him forget that feeling. He might as well be invisible.

The only time his housemates talked about him at all was when they loudly informed the new first years that Jack was dangerous and should be avoided. That made Jack even more miserable; if there was one thing worse than being ignored, it was being feared.

The only person who didn't seem to either be afraid of Jack or hate him was a little blonde girl, standing only four feet tall, with hair that didn't look as if it had ever seen the pointy side of a comb. And this little girl was only contributing to Jack's current bad mood.

She hadn't bothered him during the feast, still too busy learning from her peers, but now that they were back in the common room she apparently wanted to make her position quite clear. The little girl marched over to a coffee table by the fire and hopped up on it.

"Listen here, you lot! M'name's Camacazi and I can beat anyone at anything." Most of the Slytherins stared at her like she was nuts. Jack however was the only one who laughed out loud at this pipsqueak of a girl challenging the entire room.

Camacazi jumped off the table and walked right up to Jack.

"Is that a challenge?" she demanded fiercely with her hands on her hips. Another first year lunged forward grabbing Camicazi's arm.

"No. You heard what they said about him."

"Psh, us Bog-Burglars aren't afraid of anything! Watch and learn." Camicazi's friend quietly backed away with the rest of the crowd. Camicazi reached beneath her robe and pulled out a wooden sword. Quickly she lunged at Jack, talking constantly.

"And here I thought you'd put up a bigger fight, considering your reputation. You really aren't very good at this you know."

Jack dodged as she waved the sword around, jumping over furniture and even climbing up the rafters trying to avoid the girl. She followed him everywhere, hopping onto the furniture, scaling the rafters, matching his movements one for one. Every so often her sword would make contact, causing Jack to yelp. Despite her size she packed quite a punch.

His roommates laughed as she landed another blow. Suddenly Jack felt his mood lift, even being attacked by a crazy girl was worth it if he could make people laugh, no matter how much he disliked them. Suddenly with a desire to continue the fight, Jack maneuvered to his dorm room. He popped in before Camicazi could follow him and emerged a second later wielding his broomstick like a staff.

"What kind of sword is that? You'll never outmaneuver me you scurvy dog!" The girl leapt at him, but Jack blocked and parried her attacks easily. While she was clearly asking for it, Jack was very careful not to hit her; he did not want to start this term with a detention if it could be helped. Besides, he was starting to have fun. Eventually, both parties grew tired, and the crowd around them dispersed when they realized neither of the children was actually hitting the other anymore. Eventually Camicazi stopped her attacks and Jack set down his broom-staff.

"That was fun. Thanks for the fight," Camicazi said. "You know, I wasn't expecting you to be such a good sport. You aren't even all that bad at combat, you know, for a boy."

"Uh, thanks? So what was that about? Or do you always introduce yourself by shoving a sword at people?"

"Not always … That older boy … Derek, I think? He saw me practicing on the train. Not that I need to practice, being as amazing as I am, anyway, he asked me to avenge him, since I was so good. He told me you humiliated him last year."

"He started it!"

"Oh, did he? He didn't mention that. Anyway, from the way everyone was talking about you, I figured you must be fearsome, and then when you had the audacity to laugh at me, I knew I needed to show you who was boss."

"I should have known Derek was the one behind this. Want to help me get back at him?"

"Oh, sounds like fun. I hope the rest of the school year is as exciting as this."

Jack laughed as he and Camicazi began to plan their revenge.

* * *

Hiccup sat in a cozy chair in the Hufflepuff common room. All three of his roommates were already in their room, unpacking their things and making pleasant chatter, but Hiccup didn't feel like joining them.

For some reason, he never really made friends with his housemates. They were all very nice, of course, but most of them simply didn't understand what life was like on Berk. None of them had to face dragon attacks, or live with Vikings, or deal with being the worst Viking-Wizard Berk has ever seen. Though if this year went well he just might be able to change that last one.

Now that Hiccup knew he was left handed he could finally practice the spells that had surrounded him all his life. He had hoped he could be a protégé, mastering all the basics and then some over the summer, coming back to Hogwarts as the most powerful spell caster ever. But fate didn't seem to be kind to Hiccup, and his spells lacked real power behind them. It was enough to make Stoick happy, but not enough to impress anyone else. He was still the laughingstock of the village. But maybe it was because he lacked real teachers; maybe this year he could fix all that.

With determination Hiccup got out of the chair and followed his roommates to bed. This year he'd impress everyone.

* * *

Merida collapsed on her bed. Her first night back at Hogwarts and already she was exhausted. She smiled as she looked at the thick red curtains. In many ways Hogwarts was exactly like Castle Dunbroch, with its heavy stone walls and candlelit corridors. And yet she had so much more freedom here.

Nobody telling her not to run in the halls, or scolding her for chortling. Even the lessons were far more fun. And better yet, she had other students to work on homework with. It was a shame she was so much older than her brothers. Otherwise they might be able to share in her princess lessons at home and make them less painful. The best part of this year would be the lack of princess lessons, for sure. Merida closed her eyes, happy to be back.

* * *

In Rapunzel's dream she was back in her tower, surrounded by Mother Gothel and the potions master. She tried to look out the window at the floating lights but a dark shadow came in through the window, blocking out the moonlight and the floating lights. Suddenly she wasn't in her tower anymore, but back at school, except it was still dark. She ran through every room but she was all alone in the big empty scary school, and then out of the shadows came the scariest monster she'd ever seen. At first it appeared to be a horse, much like the nightmare horses they'd encountered last year, but then it morphed into a bear, and from that, fog began to pour out and the fog turned into a dragon.

Rapunzel screamed and fell out of bed, her braided hair cushioned her fall, but her elbow struck the table and snapped. Groggily her roommates opened their eyes asking what was wrong. Biting her lip to conceal the pain Rapunzel hastily excused herself and headed out of the Ravenclaw Tower.

Her elbow throbbed like crazy. As quietly as she could, she ran up to the seventh floor. It took a bit longer than she anticipated because the school had shifted a bit over the summer, but eventually Rapunzel found the empty classroom she and her friends had declared their club room last year. Rapunzel closed and locked the door and pulled the curtains closed before she began.

"Flower, Gleam and Glow…" As Rapunzel sang, her hair began to glow and her elbow felt at ease. Finishing her song Rapunzel tested her arm. Satisfied that it was good as new, she quietly left the classroom and started back to the Ravenclaw tower. Just as her hand reached up for the eagle knocker, another hand reached out and grabbed hers.

Rapunzel gave a squeal of fright.

"Calm down, it's only me." Rapunzel's eyes darted over to see Mother Gothel standing next to her.

"Mother? Why are you here?"

"Now that's not very nice, Rapunzel. I travel all this way just to check up on you and you don't even care how my journey was."

"I'm sorry, but -"

"That's better, pet. The journey was atrocious, I detest having to use the Floo Powder all the time. I would much rather have taken the train with you, but I figured you'd like some time with those friends of yours."

"But why are you here?"

"Now Rapunzel, before we get to that, why are you out here in the middle of the night? Do you mean to tell me that you frequently sneak out of your dorm?"

"No-It was just tonight…I…I fell out of bed," Rapunzel cast her eyes down and mumbled, "I mighta, kinda,… my arm..."

"Rapunzel! You know how I feel about the mumbling, speak clearer, dear!"

"I broke my arm."

"Oh, my goodness!"

"No, mother, it's alright! I'm fine! I just used my hair…"

"Rapunzel! How could you be so careless! If anybody saw you ..."

"No one saw…I'm sure-"

"Now Rapunzel, I expected you to be more careful than that. Honestly, if you can't even manage to stay safe when you're in bed, how am I to expect you to stay safe when you're awake. I should take you back to our tower right this second."

"But Mother, term just-"

"Don't worry dear, mummy's only joking. But I really must insist you come with me. I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt in your room again. Come with Mother, we'll get you all nice and set up where you'll be safe."

"…where?" Rapunzel asked glancing at the eagle knocker.

"My quarters of course, in the infirmary. I've been hired as an assistant nurse."

"What?!"

"Please Rapunzel, now is not the time for discussions. It's the middle of the night and you've been hurt. You aren't thinking clearly. We'll discuss this in the morning. Come."

With a sigh Rapunzel followed Mother Gothel away from the Ravenclaw Tower.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, the year has begun! Just like last year, since the protagonists are all in different houses, there is no clear house to root for for the House Cup, so I am leaving it up to you. Here is a poll so you can give them house points: 
> 
> https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZYRXM9C
> 
> feel free to vote multiple times.
> 
>  
> 
> For those of you who are curious, Camicazi is from the How to Train Your Dragon book series.


	6. Classes Begin

Hiccup made his way down to the Potions classroom. Last year Hufflepuff had Potions with Ravenclaw. He and Rapunzel had become great friends during their class, but this year Hufflepuffs shared potions with Slytherin.

When Hiccup neared the classroom he found Jack outside waiting for him. Jack had a huge grin on his face.

"What's got you so happy? You're happier than Gobber on Stump Day," Hiccup said as he and Jack took a table in the back of the classroom.

"Why can't I be in a good mood? It's only the first day of school, and I already have a lot of fun plans." Jack cupped his hand over his mouth and whispered "Besides, school has hardly started and I already have a partner in crime. Don't tell anyone."

Hiccup was tempted to ask Jack what kinds of crimes he was planning but was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Black. The professor wasted no time with introductions, jumping right into a lecture on various poisons and how most of the students would probably end up poisoning themselves over the course of the year.

Hiccup faithfully took notes on everything, marking down the ingredients they would be using the following year. Most of the items were used on Berk so Hiccup wasn't too worried about the class.

After the hour long lecture Hiccup packed up his parchment, quills and ink and prepared to head out. Jack also packed up all his things but didn't seem in a hurry to leave.

"Aren't you coming?"

"I need to ask Professor Black something. You go on."

"I don't mind waiting with you. I have the next hour free."

"Me too. I wonder if the girls are free?"

"No idea. Maybe we can meet up with them," Hiccup said. Jack stood up when the last student had left the room and walked up to the professor's office. Hiccup hung back by their table.

Slowly Jack knocked on the door. Hiccup watched as Jack waited for the door to open. Jack kept his eyes focused on the door frame; he didn't see the shadow behind him shifting. But Hiccup saw it.

The black shadows gathered behind Jack blocking out all light, until they took on the shape of a tall man in a long dark robe. Professor Pitch Black.

"…Looking for someone?" The professor asked. Jack jumped, flipping around to face Pitch.

"…uh…um…yeah...I was wondering, if you'd…you know…heard from Flynn?" Jack stuttered the words out. Hiccup watched suspiciously as Pitch leaned in, so much that he was practically on top of Jack.

"Hasn't he contacted you?"

"Well…no," Jack said weakly.

"A shame, and you two were such good friends. Well, I suppose he has better things to do than waste his time writing to someone like you. I certainly hope the rest of your friends think better of you than Flynn did."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"Think about it, child. He could have told you he was leaving, but he didn't; he could have left you a note, but he didn't; and he could have written to you, but he didn't. All that time you spent together…well, Flynn was never noted for his honesty. I wouldn't be surprised if everything you knew about him was a lie."

"Stop it! He…He didn't lie to me!"

"Maybe not directly. But he certainly lied by omission. He never told you he was leaving…I wonder what other lies he might have told."

"Just give me his address; I'll decide if he's lying."

"I can't. I'm afraid the school won't let us give out addresses. You should run along Jack. I have other classes today, and if you insist upon interrupting me you may find yourself starting another year with a detention. And we wouldn't want a repeat of last year, would we?"

"No, Professor," Jack said, his shoulders slumping. Slowly he walked back over to Hiccup and the two boys left the classroom.

Jack kept up a dejected silence as they climbed up the stairs out of the dungeon.

"He's wrong," Hiccup said after they reached the fourth floor.

"How would you know!" Jack snapped. "You weren't the one who spent time with Flynn. You hardly knew him. Maybe Pitch was right and he didn't want to be friends with me."

"Even if that's true, and I'm not convinced it is, doesn't it strike you as odd that he said he couldn't give you Flynn's address after telling you he gave yours out?"

"He didn't give Flynn my address, he said Flynn could contact me at the school. Anyway, Flynn obviously doesn't want to contact me, or he would have."

"That might be true…but I don't buy it. He was acting suspiciously last year too, remember? He told me and Rapunzel that he would talk to you and Merida about those…horse things. He never did get around to that, did he?"

"It probably just slipped his mind. I bet he's forgotten all about it. If I hadn't seen them myself I know I would have."

"Something about Professor Black just seems…off. Did you see the way he traveled through the shadows?"

"No. But I bet lots of people can do that. Like Floo powder."

"No, they can't, Jack. Do you really think we'd all risk jumping into a burning fire to travel if we could do it through shadows?"

"Jumping in a fire isn't so scary," Jack said as they reached the seventh floor landing.

"Yeah, well you don't have to face your village burning down every other week. If the people of Berk can avoid jumping into a raging fire, we do. Even if it means taking a long boat to London on a six hour trip."

"What about apparition?"

"Vikings don't Apparate."

"Why not, isn't it faster?"

"The Splinching. We lose enough limbs to the dragon attacks. Nobody wants to risk getting a peg leg just to travel faster. Besides, so much of the Archipelago is water, if you miss your mark, by as little as a mile, you're likely to end up in the ocean, and for a heavily armored Viking an unplanned dip could be deadly." Hiccup stopped talking as they turned down a familiar corridor.

Last year there had been an unused classroom up here. Hiccup, Jack, Rapunzel, and Merida had made it their club room, where they could talk more freely than in the library.

Jack took the lead as they reached the door. He opened it a crack and checked in to make sure it was still empty. Jack smiled and opened the door further. Hiccup stepped in to find Merida and Rapunzel pushing the chairs and desks to the side.

The girls stopped and smiled as the boys entered.

"So there you are, making us wee girls do all the hard labor, rearrangin' the furniture. I'd have thought you had better manners than tha'," Merida said.

"Cool it, Princess," Jack replied. "I had to talk with someone. You could have waited if it's so hard."

"It's only the first day. Who'd you need to talk to?"

"It doesn't matter. I didn't get the answer I wanted anyway," Jack said solemnly. Merida shrugged.

"So are you goin' to help me with this desk or not?" she said. Jack gave a weak smile as he went to help her.

Hiccup was glad Jack's mind was off of Pitch and Flynn. Hiccup was a bit curious about Flynn too, but he was sure Pitch was lying. It wasn't just this incident. Hiccup had been suspicious last year but during the excitement in the woods he had almost forgotten how odd Pitch acted.

Hiccup went over to help Rapunzel move chairs. He wouldn't worry anyone else with his feeling about Pitch. They'd think he was crazy, just like when he tried to tell his dad that he shot down a Nadder. Granted, that was a lie, he'd only clipped the wing, and not really hard enough to do any damage, but it didn't matter because Stoick didn't believe him.

"So, Rapunzel, what did you and Merida have this fine morning?" Hiccup asked.

"Transfiguration, it was wonderful. We transfigured beetles into buttons. I hope it doesn't hurt the beetle."

"Don't worry. Unless you're really gifted at transfiguration, the button will turn back into a beetle in about a week."

"Who'd want a button that only lasts a week?" Jack asked.

"It's not a permanent solution, just a quick fix until you get somewhere and buy a real button. Most transfiguration spells are like that, otherwise everyone would just run into the woods and transfigure a bunch of sticks into whatever they needed and never have to buy anything again. There are a few wizards who can make their transfigurations permanent, but they're rare."

Jack and Merida finally finished moving the heavy chairs.

"Man, I sure hope there are no classes in this room this year," Jack said as he flopped down on the floor.

"There'd better not be," Merida said, turning to Jack. "If there is and they make us put all the desks and chairs back in place I'll have to hurt you."

"Hurt me? I didn't tell you to start rearranging the furniture. How can you blame this on me?" Jack defended.

"You picked the room last year. Therefore everything that happens here is your fault."

"That is so unfair!"

"Is not."

"Is too"

"Is not"

"Is TOO"

"IS NOT!"

"IS TOO!" Jack shouted. Rapunzel cringed at the raised voices. Hiccup frowned and stepped between Jack and Merida.

"Guys, please. We talked about this," Hiccup chided. "Not around Rapunzel."

"No no. It's ok," Rapunzel said softly.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, "I don't know about Red here, but I can stop if you want me to. Even if it means surrender." Jack dramatically flopped backwards onto the floor raising one hand to his brow pretending to be dead.

Rapunzel giggled quietly, "Thank you, but that's not necessary. I'm just a little stressed about Mother."

"You miss her, don't you?" Hiccup asked gently.

"No!" Rapunzel said forcefully. "I mean I would, if she were home, but guys? Mother Gothel is here."

Jack bolted up. Merida and Hiccup stood shocked.

"What do you mean, 'here'? How can she be here?" Hiccup asked.

"She got a job as the nurse's assistant." For a moment no one said anything, just stared at Rapunzel. Finally Jack broke the silence.

"That's great Rapunzel. Now whenever I get hurt, I know I'm in good hands. Maybe she'll give me stamps: five visits to the infirmary, one free visit to your tower."

"This isn't funny," Merida said. "Imagine if it was your mum, you'd never be able to get away with anything!"

"You are wrong!" Jack said with a dramatic flair. "If it was my mother, I'd get away with everything! Well, until I confessed. Then I'd get in trouble. But if it was fun, then it was worth it."

"You'd hate my mum," Merida said. "She never lets me get away with anything, especially if it's fun."

"She can't be all that bad."

"Oh no? She scolds me for everythin'. Even laughin'. It's like if I do anythin' it's somehow wrong."

"Even laughing? What's wrong with laughing? Everyone should laugh. If you don't laugh there must be something wrong with you," Jack said. "Merida, you must invite me to your castle someday. It is now my life's mission to make your mother laugh, and I shall not rest until it is done."

"Aye, maybe you could come to see me next summer," Merida said, "if I can convince Mum to allow it. Of course, if it's anything like this summer, even if you do get to visit, Mum won't let me out of lessons to play with you. "

"Oh, come on. This summer wasn't that bad."

The conversation devolved into talking about what everyone did over the summer. Hiccup went along with it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they should be more focused on Rapunzel's news. He'd been the first to meet Mother Gothel during Rapunzel's birthday party. She seemed friendly enough, if a little controlling. But suddenly getting a job in the school just seemed suspicious.

A bell chimed somewhere in the school. The four students bolted up and out the door.

"It can't be time for the next class yet," Jack said as they ran down the stairs.

"Do you think I'll make it to Charms in time?" Rapunzel asked.

"I've got Charms next, too," Jack said. "I think we can."

Jack and Rapunzel turned a corner quickly on their way to the Charms room. Merida and Hiccup kept running down the stairs.

"Hurry up! We're going to be late," Merida demanded grabbing Hiccup's wrist. The two students made it to Greenhouse Three just seconds before the bell rang again to signify the start of the lesson.

Merida and Hiccup shared an exhausted smile as Professor Seraphina Pitchiner started the lesson about Mandrakes.

* * *

Rapunzel twisted her hair nervously as Charms begin. Jack was right; they had made it to the classroom on time, but only just barely. Professor Grimm sent them into pairs to practice the spells they were supposed to have mastered last year.

Rapunzel worked with Jack. Charms class was one of her best subjects, right after astronomy, so she had little difficulty during this review session. Jack wasn't too bad either, although he did struggle to remember some of the incantations. By the time class ended, both of them felt nice and caught up.

Rapunzel and Jack slowly walked to the Great Hall together, letting their classmates get ahead of them. As the hall cleared, Jack and Rapunzel enjoyed the quiet time alone.

Jack would tell a joke and Rapunzel would giggle a little, and then they would be silent again. Going at such a slow, relaxing pace it took almost ten minutes to reach the Great Hall. Jack paused outside the doors.

"I guess we have to split up now," Rapunzel said softly.

"I wish we were in the same house," Jack said.

"I don't know if that would do any good," Rapunzel said with a sigh. Jack turned to her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Tell me."

"Well, you know Mother Gothel?"

"What about her?"

"She wants me to move into the infirmary with her. I'm still technically a Ravenclaw student, but I doubt I'll be spending much time in the Ravenclaw room."

"Really? Do you think there's any chance she'd let me move in with you?" Jack said with his trademark grin.

"JACK!" Rapunzel screeched. "This isn't funny. I feel torn between the two. I don't want to leave Ravenclaw, but it would really hurt Mother's feelings if I didn't go with her."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Just tell her you need time to think. Maybe tell her you need to work on homework with someone in your dormitory."

"Mother would want me to go to her for help."

"She isn't taking the class. She won't know exactly what you've learned. And you can always say you aren't the one who needs help. Pretend you're tutoring someone. I'd ask you to help me, but that won't help you stay in Ravenclaw."

"…Thanks, Jack. Guess we'd better get to lunch now." Rapunzel started to open the door before turning back to Jack, "And anyway, no one would let you stay in the infirmary. You'd cause too much mischief."

"Too true. Let me know if you have any trouble with your mother. I'll see to it that she gets a 'proper' welcome." Jack smiled and headed off to the Slytherin table. Rapunzel shook her head at Jack. He was incorrigible.

With a small smile on her lips, Rapunzel crossed over to the Ravenclaw table. She had barely sat down when her smile vanished. Mother Gothel was marching down from the professors table.

"Where have you been?" Gothel demanded when she reached the golden haired girl.

"Just…walking, Mother," Rapunzel said quietly.

"Do you have any idea how much you worried me! When everyone else came in without you…I didn't know what to think. Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I…I'm only a few minutes late."

"Don't be ridiculous, Rapunzel, it was far longer than that. Anyway, we can discus it over sandwiches in my office."

"But, Mother, I want to eat lunch here, with my friends."

"Come along Rapunzel, we'll discuss this later." Rapunzel looked at her Ravenclaw friends. All happily absorbed in their own conversations, no one noticed Mother Gothel.

"Eating with me is the least you can do after scaring me like that." Rapunzel bowed her head and followed Mother out of the Great Hall.

* * *

Jack diligently worked on planting the Mandrakes after lunch. It was kind of fun to wrestle with the little critters. Everyone had cotton stuffed in their ears to protect them from the screams the Mandrakes were supposed to be making, but surprisingly Jack's wasn't screeching. It had when he first pulled it out, but as he got the thing into another pot he spoke gently, telling the little thing funny stories. Jack couldn't hear himself talking, but from the way the thing calmed down and begin to smile, Jack felt sure his jokes were working.

As he started packing the dirt back around the plant he glanced up at Rapunzel. She was really struggling with her Mandrake. It had grabbed onto her hair and wouldn't let go. Jack watched as the thing started to pull out her braid. He knew from last year just how long that hair was.

Quickly Jack darted over and took the Mandrake from Rapunzel, coaxing it to let go of her hair and calming it down. She smiled in thanks as he handed her back the little fellow so she could repot it as Jack went back to his own Mandrake. He knew Rapunzel was shy about the length of her hair, having it all fall out in the middle of Herbology would devastate her.

By the time the entire class managed to get their Mandrakes back in their pots, everyone was exhausted and covered in dirt.

"I've got an hour before my next class," Jack said to Rapunzel as they walked back to the castle. "What about you?"

"The same…" Jack started to ask Rapunzel if she wanted to head up to their club room, but stopped when he saw how melancholy her face was.

"What's wrong?" Jack demanded stopping just short of entering the castle.

"I…I'm sorry. I have to go." Rapunzel turned and ran, leaving Jack staring dumbfounded after her.

She had been acting…peculiar…since lunch. Jack hadn't been paying much attention to the Ravenclaw table. Almost as soon as he sat down, little Camicazi joined him. She spent practically the whole lunch hour trying to determine if she'd done better on her first day than Jack had.

But towards the end she became engaged with some of the students in her year leaving Jack to think about the rest of the school. He saw Merida and Hiccup at their respective tables chatting with people in their own houses, but Rapunzel was gone.

She showed up again outside the Herbology room, but didn't explain where she had been. Jack didn't press her. He hadn't been the most faithful at eating in the Great Hall last year.

But now with her running off, acting as flighty as a rabbit, Jack was starting to get worried. He hurried up to the club room. His next class was with Gryffindor, so that meant that Rapunzel's next class would be with Hiccup. Maybe he could figure out what was bothering her.

Jack sighed in relief when he found Hiccup and Merida relaxing in the room, talking about lessons. Jack shut the door and told them about Rapunzel. Hiccup promised to talk to her during History of Magic. After an hour of trying to decide what was wrong with Rapunzel, the three students had to part ways for their separate classes. Jack and Merida walked down to Defense Against the Dark Arts together.

"So, any other classes today, Red?" Jack asked.

"Knock it off with the nicknames, Frost, or I'll make you regret it."

"Ooh. I'm so scared," Jack said dodging her playful punch.

"Nah. This is m' last class of the day."

"Guess we'll be going back up to the club then?"

"Aye. I hope Rapunzel's there. Maybe you shouldn't come. You probably scared her off."

"Hey, the only person I want to scare outta there is you. Obviously my tactics have not worked."

"Of course not. To have tactics, first you need tact." Merida made sure her word was the last by darting into the classroom before Jack could come up with a response.

* * *

Merida climbed back to the Gryffindor tower later that day. While she enjoyed ribbing Jack at first, it had lost its fun when Hiccup told them he'd been unsuccessful with Rapunzel. Granted, History of Magic was not a class known for its talking opportunities, but you would think Hiccup could have at least figured out where Rapunzel was going. Leave it to a boy to fail. She'd see Rapunzel tomorrow for Potions.

With that thought in mind, Merida tumbled into bed. Her dreams were plagued by nightmares, usually the nightmares contained the sandy horses they'd encountered last year, but tonight's nightmare was about the demon bear Mor'du. In her dream, the bear was human, but still just as vicious as a bear. He slaughtered thousands of people, before threatening to kill any who told of what they'd seen in the woods. Merida woke up with a cold sweat. It was a dark, moonless night. Everyone else was still sleeping soundly. Quietly Merida rolled over but it took a long time to actually get back to sleep.

The next morning Merida tiredly made her way to the dungeons for Potions. All of the Ravenclaws were there but Rapunzel. Merida took the desk she had used last year. Rapunzel showed up seconds before class started, looking even more tired than Merida felt.

"Are you alright?" Merida started to ask. Before Rapunzel could answer Professor Black stepped out of the shadows and demanded silence from the class. Rapunzel nodded slightly to Merida before turning her full attention on Pitch. Merida half paid attention to the lesson, keeping more focus on Rapunzel. She looked exhausted, and worried. She kept biting her lip and playing with her hair when she wasn't taking notes.

As soon as Professor Black dismissed them, Rapunzel tried to dart out of the room, but Merida grabbed her wrist.

"I…I have to go."

"I know. Jack told me you two have double Herbology again."

"Yes, please. I can't be late."

"You won't be. Tell me what's going on."

"…It's nothing. Really."

"If you don't tell me, I really will make you late," Merida demanded.

"It's just…Mother. You know." Rapunzel glanced nervously at the clock. Merida let her go and Rapunzel dashed out of the room. Merida had to hurry to get to her double Charms lesson, where she relayed what happened to Hiccup.

As they practiced the charms both of them felt sympathy for Rapunzel. Merida felt glad her mum was a muggle. If Queen Elinor showed up, she might be in the same boat as Rapunzel. Hiccup disagreed. Much as he wanted to please his father, he couldn't imagine having no free time at all. He told Merida that even when his father and the Village of Berk ordered him to stay inside for his own safety it was never enforced. _Lucky_ , Merida thought jealously. The two fell into silence, neither knowing how to handle Rapunzel's tangled situation.

* * *

Rapunzel worked quickly during Herbology. Jack kept trying to talk to her, but she kept fairly silent. Eventually Jack decided to leave her alone. Rapunzel was grateful he wasn't being pushy; she didn't know how she would handle it if he kept pushing her.

She felt terrible for not telling her friends what was going on, and yet she was scared. What if they thought badly of her for not standing up to Mother Gothel? Or what if they thought she should go along with what Gothel wanted? Rapunzel couldn't bear it if they stopped being her friends.

She had managed to refuse Gothel's offer to come live in the Infirmary. It was difficult, and Mother was upset. Rapunzel could hardly sleep after their fight. She was besieged by nightmares where she was trapped in the woods, haunted by the terrible horses. Mother kept trying to rescue her but every time something happened to Mother before she could rescue Rapunzel, from breaking her ankle to horrible deaths, each one more gruesome than the last.

By the time Rapunzel woke up she was extremely tired. Professor Toothiana, the Ravenclaw head of house, seemed worried, but Rapunzel brushed aside her comments the same way she brushed aside her friends' questions.

She could handle herself on her own. She just had to prove that to Mother. If she could survive the year without asking her friends or anyone else for help, maybe then Mother would believe she was strong.


	7. The Trouble Starts

Jack, Merida, and Hiccup continued to worry about Rapunzel as they fell into the rhythm of classes. They soon realized that although Rapunzel didn't want to talk about anything being wrong, she was still perfectly cheerful about safer topics, like how the weather felt and any new anecdotes about fellow classmates.

She did come up to the club room during a few of her free periods in the morning, but any afternoon free time was always spent elsewhere. The only explanation she ever gave for her disappearances was that Mother needed her.

Despite being concerned for their friend, Jack, Merida and Hiccup did not have much time to dwell on her problems. Their class schedules were much fuller this year, and the professors started with more difficult assignments now that the children knew the basics.

They were forced to spend the majority of their free time working on homework instead of goofing off, although Jack still managed to make it fun. He and Merida often broke out into mini-wars, where they would each try to curse each other with whatever spells they were learning. Hiccup tried to break it up once, only for Jack and Merida to defend the wars as practice.

Hiccup shook his head and went back to reading, preferring to study from books. There certainly was less danger that way, although he did notice that Jack and Merida's practice was paying off in class. Not that either of them was perfect, but both managed to cast better spells than Hiccup could manage.

Of course Hiccup was still better at book learning and theory. He wasn't quite the joke of the class this year like he was last year. But he still had to put in a lot of effort to cast the spells.

Hiccup assumed that Rapunzel was doing fine in her classes. He only had History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts with her. Last year she did well in both of them. It was his assumption she was doing fine in everything this year as well, though if he tried to ask her, she would clam up.

He tried to understand what was going on in her life. He understood wanting to measure up to a parent, to prove to them that you could be the child they wanted you to be. To prove that he was competent. To show the entire village that he wasn't a mistake, a runt.

Hiccup cleared his head. Rapunzel wasn't a runt. Everyone loved her. Hiccup couldn't imagine anyone thinking Rapunzel was weak. She might be a bit shy at times, but her spells were truly strong. Last year Rapunzel actually made the strongest impact during their adventure in the woods. Her glowing hair helped more than Merida's bow.

Of course, because her glowing hair was a secret, Hiccup couldn't tell anyone about what happened in the woods. He tried to ask his father about the black sandy horses, but Stoick thought he was making it up. Gobber was better about it, at least he believed Hiccup, but unfortunately Gobber barely knew what a real horse looked like, let alone a strange sandy one. And when Hiccup had to lie and say he'd read about the horse-like creatures in a school library book, Gobber's only advice was to go back to the book. Hiccup had to admit, if he traded places with Gobber that would be his advice too.

He couldn't tell anyone he encountered the things for real. They would want to know how he and the others made it out. And he just couldn't tell them. It wasn't only Rapunzel he was protecting. He was almost certain bow and arrows weren't allowed on school grounds, which would get Merida in trouble too. Not to mention what would happen to Jack if the Slytherin head of house found out he was in trouble again. Jack was on thin ice with Pitch Black already.

And the ice only got thinner, as Hiccup discovered. It was a nice warm late September Saturday, he and Merida were working on their charms homework in the club room when Jack came dashing in faster than a Terrible Terror.

His face was red and he was panting heavily, but his eyes were smiling. As soon as he caught his breath he began laughing. Merida threw down her homework.

"What's the big idea! Intruding on a body's study session!" Merida demanded. Jack put his finger to his lips.

"Quiet," he whispered. "I'm hiding."

Jack had to clamp his hand over his mouth to keep his own laughter from giving himself away.

"Who are you hiding from?" Hiccup whispered.

"Professor Black," Jack chuckled before biting his lip, "and Derek."

Jack broke out into laughter again before continuing, "And pretty much everyone else in Slytherin House, except for Camicazi."

"What did you do?" Hiccup asked. The name Camicazi seemed familiar, but Hiccup ignored the feeling in favor of listening to Jack.

"I may or may not have stolen all the soap from the Slytherin bathrooms."

"Even the girls'?" Merida asked.

"That's what I needed Camicazi for."

"Why would you steal the soap?" Hiccup asked.

"It's a secret," Jack said through another burst of laughter. "Let's just say I plan to clean up the Slytherin house, and maybe the rest of the school."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "So, if you haven't done anything with the soap, why are they chasing you?"

"Who said anyone was chasing me?" Jack asked with a sly smile. "Ok, they're chasing me. I'm not a very good thief. I hope Camicazi had better luck. Now quiet."

The trio held their breath as footsteps approached. The footsteps sounded light and quick. After a moment they passed. A moment of quiet and Jack softly opened the door. Hiccup and Merida hung back as Jack peaked out.

He smiled and slipped out. Hiccup and Merida turned back to their study session, but no sooner had they started practice on the Incendio charm, one of Merida's favorites, than they heard a shout in the hall.

Silently the two looked out to see Jack being dragged away by Professor Black. He was alternating between saying 'I didn't do it' and laughing out loud. Hiccup and Merida rolled their eyes and closed the door. It didn't look like Jack would be back that weekend. In fact, he might be lucky if he got back at all.

* * *

Of course, Jack had natural luck, not that it was helping in this situation. Eventually he confessed to Professor Black about taking the soap; he had to, he wasn't a liar, and Jack wound up in detention. At first it was just for one week, then extended for one month when it was discovered that the girls' soap was missing as well. Camicazi had made a clean getaway. Nobody suspected her. She even managed to smuggle the soap Jack stole from where he had hidden it to who knows where.

Jack graciously accepted the detentions, Pitch's detentions were the worst, but if he could spare Camicazi from them he didn't care. What could he say? He had a soft spot for younger kids.

It was during the first of these detentions when strange things began to happen. Jack met Pitch in his office in the Potions dungeon as usual. Jack had seen this room far more than he cared too, spending almost a quarter of his first year here.

One of the first things Jack noticed this year was the addition of chains behind Professor Black's desk. Jack sincerely hoped they were only there to scare students and Black had no intention of using them.

Jack flipped a chair around to straddle it as Professor Black walked in.

"Well, Frost? Are you going to tell me why you removed the soap from all the Slytherin bathrooms?"

"I dunno. It seemed like fun," Jack snickered. "Besides, are you sure there was ever soap in there? From the foul language I've heard it's hard to believe anyone is clean."

"Jackson Overland Frost. I would like to remind you that you are being punished. If you do not want me to revoke your right to associate with other houses I suggest you start cooperating. Where did you hide the soap?"

"Under my bed!" Jack declared with sobered intensity.

"I looked in your room, the soap wasn't there."

"Then you must have another soap thief, because I swear in all honesty I put the soap I stole under my bed and have not touched it since," Jack said honestly. Black stared at him.

"Do you have any idea who the new thief could be?"

"Probably somebody clean. How many Slytherins have clean hair?" Jack smirked. Hair care was clearly the last thing on Camicazi's mind. Checking for clean hair would make her come out scot-free. Pitch didn't seem to buy it, but didn't push the issue either.

Instead, Pitch pushed a vial close to Jack. Jack knew the drill. It was almost always the same. After the initial interrogation, Jack would drink the potion, fall asleep and have a nightmare. Pitch would be there when Jack woke up, and thank him for helping test the effects of the potion before sending Jack back to the Slytherin dorm to be plagued by nightmares in his own bed.

Jack had no hesitation before swallowing the contents of the vial. Jack set the vial down but nothing happened. He glanced up at Professor Black.

"You're losing you're touch, this potion doesn't work," Jack said with a smile.

"Oh, it's working. It will just take some time. While we wait for the potion to take effect, why don't we discuss your relationship with the other students…I believe you were having some issues with the boy called Derek?"

"Look, Professor, if you really cared about me and Derek, you shoulda interfered last year. Derek hasn't bothered me much this year and if he does, I can handle it."

"What about students of other houses? I believe you and the Gryffindors have had words."

"I can handle Merida, too. Better than any help you ever gave."

"Now, now child, I was merely curious. Are you sure no one else has been bothering you?"

"Only Flynn. Could you at least tell me what was so bad he had to leave?"

"Sorry, that's confidential." Pitch gave Jack a grin. "You know, I do recall that before he left he went out on a date with a girl in Ravenclaw."

"Clarisse? Yeah. He told me about her. I didn't think they hit it off. He said she was too snobby. And apparently she hates beards, Flynn is - was - trying to grow one."

"Do you know anything else about her?"

"Nah, but I think Rapunzel knows her." Jack yawned, the potion must be starting to take effect. "As far as I know Clarisse and Flynn only had that one date."

"I've heard a rumor that she might have encouraged him to leave."

Pitch Black's words came to Jack as though he were underwater. Groggily Jack answered, "I…I don't see how. Flynn hardly knew her…I think."

"Are you quite sure? It seems to me that Flynn was constantly leaving you to go hang around with her. She was stealing Flynn's attention. And I have heard that Flynn has been writing her back, although he wasn't writing you."

"No…that…that can't…can't be true…" Jack barely got the last word out before he fell over in a nightmare-ridden slumber; dead to the world.

* * *

Rapunzel walked briskly from Greenhouse Two all the way up to the seventh floor where her friends would be waiting in the empty classroom. She had just finished Friday's Herbology lesson, but unlike usual, Jack Frost wasn't there.

She reached the club room in record time, before even Hiccup and Merida. Jack was not there, either. Rapunzel bit her lip and pulled on her hair. _Its ok,_ she thought, _Jack is probably fine. I shouldn't be worrying._ Nevertheless, Rapunzel did worry.

The door opened, causing Rapunzel a brief panic. Although Mother Gothel had not insisted that Rapunzel come assist her in the mornings, she was still not supposed to go very far. Mother Gothel would kill her if she found out Rapunzel was coming up to a deserted classroom on the seventh floor. Merida, Hiccup and Jack had all promised not to tell. The empty classroom was not strictly forbidden, but Rapunzel feared if Mother found out, it would be.

Hiccup and Merida stepped in and Rapunzel relaxed. Hiccup smiled.

"Hey, glad you could make it. Where's Jack?" Hiccup asked.

"You don't know? I thought when he didn't show up for class…"

"Jack missed class?"

"Serves the scalawag right," Merida said.

"I thought maybe Jack told the two of you where he was?"

"Jack probably just got carried away planning a prank and lost track of time. I wouldn't worry about it Rapunzel," Hiccup reassured her. "Now why don't we work a bit on our homework?"

Rapunzel nodded and the three students sat down and worked until the bell rang. After the Friday morning break was over classes proceeded as normal. She had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Hiccup, then ate lunch with Mother, and finally she had Potions with Merida, who said Jack missed History of Magic, the Slytherin/Gryffindor class before lunch.

Merida only seemed upset that Jack left her to study History alone, and she complained about having to take notes for him. Though she did say now she could skip class and he'd have to give her his notes.

Before they left Potions, Rapunzel approached Professor Black.

"Um, Professor…Have you seen Jack Frost?"

"Isn't he with his classmates in Transfiguration?"

"…I don't know."

"Are you attempting to report a student skipping class? I'll have to add another week of detention for this."

"No! I…I don't know."

"Well if you don't know, you really shouldn't trouble yourself with these things little girl, I would advise you to hurry back to your mother, before she sends the whole school out to search for you."

"Right. Thank you, Professor." Rapunzel sighed and headed out, a bit disappointed to see Merida hadn't waited for her. She went up from the dungeons to the infirmary where Gothel quickly set Rapunzel to rolling bandages while Gothel brushed and braided her hair, coaxing Rapunzel to sing her special song despite her dower mood.

Rapunzel sang, and her hair glowed, and Mother's youth was restored, but Rapunzel's heart wasn't in it.

That night, as she lay awake in her Ravenclaw bed, Rapunzel heard an earsplitting howl of terror.

* * *

Merida crouched behind the couch in the Gryffindor common room. A clock chimed, telling her it was midnight. She glanced around, no sign of Todd, a Gryffindor boy in her year. The two of them had gotten into an argument over who was a better spell caster and agreed to meet for a midnight duel in the common room.

_It would be just like Todd to oversleep,_ Merida thought grumpy at having had to get up for nothing. She was about to turn around and go back to her room when a frantic knock came on the door to the common room. Merida held her breath. Nobody knocked on the door. All Gryffindors knew the password but who besides a Gryffindor would come up here? And at midnight, no less?

After a moment the knock came again. This time Merida heard heavy thumping footsteps coming down the stairs. At nearly the same time, Merida heard a strange flutter, almost like the flutter of wings coming from inside the door, which was extremely odd as she hadn't heard the door open.

The thumping footsteps stopped and Merida heard the voice of the head of Gryffindor, Professor Bunnymund.

"Who the bloody hell could be bothering me in this godforsaken hour…Tooth. What's wrong?"

"Oh, Bunny, It's awful. I lost one of my students," the voice of Professor Toothiana said.

"Calm down, sheila. I'm sure the ankle biter's around here somewhere. Maybe he just snuck out for a midnight snack."

"No Bunny. Do you think I'd be bothering you if Clarisse were around here somewhere? I looked. I even sent the fairies out to see if they could find her. But they couldn't find anything, not even her teeth."

"How old is this girl?"

"Sixth year. Bunny, I can't find her."

"She probably snuck off school grounds, on a midnight date. You know how teenagers are."

"No! I looked! Besides, something strange happened on her bed. It's what woke her roommates. Her bed was coated in ice, but that's not the strange part. The ice had this odd pattern in it, kind of like ferns."

Merida reeled back. She knew the person who liked to make fernlike patterns in ice. He even named the pattern after himself. Frost. Merida held her breath as she listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Maybe this sheila was playin' a prank on her friends? Using the glacius spell?"

"I don't think so. Clarisse wasn't the joking sort and she hated pranks."

"Don't worry. We'll find her. Have you told anyone else?"

"No- well, most of Ravenclaw tower knows, but that's because her friend screamed when she saw the ice. I sent them all back to bed while I looked for her. None of them know that I couldn't find her."

"Did you tell MiM?"

"Not yet. I can't believe I lost a student," Toothiana started to sob.

"Cheer up, Tooth. Come on. I'll help ya look. We can go meet MiM and check with him, and then if we still can't find her, we'll write Sandy and North."

"Do you really think they can help?"

"Well, you know what they say about how North knows if kids are naughty. If yer sixth year did sneak out, he'd be the one to know now, wouldn't he? But we should check with MiM first. He knows a lot about what goes on 'round the school."

"I know. You're right."

"And we probably shouldn't worry the students about this…why don't you tell them Clarisse took ill or something."

"Thanks for helping. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"We'll find her…dontch' worry. We'll find her." The voices faded as the two professors left the Gryffindor Tower.

Merida waited until she was sure they were gone before quietly sneaking back to her room, the duel with Todd completely forgotten. A student was missing…and it sounded like Jack might have had something to do with it. Jack was certainly known for his pranks, but Merida was at a loss as to how Jack could have pulled this one. They wouldn't learn the freezing charm until their third year…although if Hiccup or Rapunzel knew it, either might have taught the spell to Jack.

But then how would Jack even get into the Ravenclaw tower? Rapunzel said you had to solve a riddle to get in, Jack didn't seem the riddle solving sort, unless of course, it was a fun riddle.

Giving up on solving the mystery of the missing Ravenclaw, Merida crawled back into bed and fell asleep, determined to ask Jack about this herself next time she saw him.


	8. Mother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you read this chapter, you should keep the tune to Mother Knows Best from Tangled in your head, particularly when you get to Rapunzel's perspective (it's towards the end).

 

Jack's head pounded. Everything seemed fuzzy. After a minute, he became aware that he was lying on something hard and wet. He slowly opened his eyes and stared into blue. Blue? All of the rooms in Slytherin dungeons were decorated in green.

It took Jack another minute with the wind ruffling his hair before he realized he was outside. His brown eyes widened as he bolted up. He was lying in the woods, by the edge where he could still see the school, but in the woods, no less. Jack looked down at where he'd been sleeping, the ground was wet and cold, as though a large chunk of ice had melted there.

Jack looked up at the sky, the sun was barely up, it couldn't be more than six in the morning. He trudged back to the castle. His head hurt. What happened?

The last thing Jack remembered with any clarity was going down to detention…he vaguely recalled doing something after that…but he couldn't remember what had occurred, just feeling cold…and a girl…and a scream. The next thing he knew he was waking up in the woods.

Jack sneaked back to the Slytherin dungeon, hoping to catch a few minutes of shuteye before classes started. He had no clue how long he'd been asleep, but he didn't feel rested at all.

Jack collapsed on his bed, catching an hour or so of sleep before getting up and following his roommates down to breakfast. Jack half listened as Camicazi chatted, too tired to take in anything she said, before he got up and trudged down to the greenhouses.

He slowly looked around. No one else, not even the professor, was out here yet. In fact, the greenhouse was locked. Jack wandered around looking for anyone who could tell him where the rest of the class was.

After wandering among the plants that were outside the greenhouse for a while Jack became aware of a strange presence. He looked around but saw no one. Great, no memory, and now he was imagining that he was being followed.

"Here to make up?" Jack jumped at the sudden voice. Turning around, he met Professor Seraphina. He rubbed his head, he must be so tired he mistook her green dress and cloak for a bush.

"Where is everyone? Don't we have class?"

"Your class was yesterday. You weren't here. Today is Saturday." Jack's eyes widened. How could he have slept for over a day? That meant he missed History and Transfiguration, too. A small panic briefly took over Jack. He wasn't doing well enough in any class to be confident enough to skip.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly said, "I…I guess I overslept. Is there any way I can make it up?" Jack looked up at her hopefully but got only a frown in return.

"Do not miss class again." Jack's face fell and the teacher gave him a sympathetic look. "If you are serious about making amends…I'll see what I can do. Maybe you can assist me in tending the grounds. That's normally the groundskeeper's job, but we're a bit short staffed at the moment, so I've been handling it."

"Sure! I can do that!" Jack smiled. He often helped his mother tending their family garden in the Burgess. He wasn't a natural green thumb, but he could handle things like raking leaves and carrying firewood, and shoveling snow. It might even be fun as long as no one minded if he jumped in the pile of leaves.

"You may go now. I have plants to attend to. I advise you to find a classmate to share notes with. I will see you on Monday. And, Mr. Frost ...?"

"Yes?"

"I will expect you to stay a bit after class for your first assignment."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said before dashing off. He knew just who to ask for notes…that is if Rapunzel actually showed up today. Jack made it halfway to the seventh floor club room when he stopped. Rapunzel's visits to the club room were so infrequent now he wasn't sure if she really would be there.

Rapunzel told them that her mother worked in the infirmary, maybe that's where Rapunzel kept disappearing to. Deciding that his notes were the most important thing, Jack turned towards the infirmary.

When Jack entered, he was met by the nurse who had worked there last year. Asking her for the whereabouts of Gothel and Rapunzel, the nurse pointed him to a room on the far end of the infirmary.

Jack softly approached the door. He intended to knock but stopped when he heard something on the other side. Rapunzel was singing. Jack looked at the door; a shaft of light came from the crack at the bottom. Jack recognized the light. It was the same soft golden glow Rapunzel's hair gave off during the battle with the sand horses. No one was supposed to know her hair glowed.

Jack intended to just leave, if Rapunzel was singing she probably wanted to be alone, but then he heard another voice coming from the room. Jack knelt down and peered through the keyhole.

Inside he saw Gothel brushing Rapunzel's hair, undone from its usual braid. As Jack watched, Gothel's grey hair turned black and her winkles and liver spots vanished. Jack gasped and backed away. He knew it could heal, but eternal youth? Anyone would want that. Rapunzel's hair was more valuable than the philosopher's stone.

"There, Rapunzel. Now let's get this all braided up again."

"Mother, can I please go study with my friends once my hair is braided?"

"Oh Rapunzel, I know you want to go, but we have too much to do, why don't you visit them tomorrow?"

"That's what you said yesterday."

"Well, maybe if you had worked harder, you might have managed to be finished in time to visit your friends."

"Yes, Mother."

Jack ran from the infirmary. He didn't want anyone to know he'd been spying on Rapunzel. It was her secret to tell, not his. And yet he couldn't help but think that maybe Hiccup was right and something was off with Gothel. It's not as though he wouldn't help his mom out with de-aging if he could, but the way Gothel looked at the hair as she brushed, it didn't seem like a mom getting a gift. Jack vowed to keep a closer eye on Rapunzel. If anything fishy was going on, maybe he could help.

Jack hurried up to the seventh floor classroom. He wouldn't tell Hiccup or Merida about this. If Rapunzel wanted them to know, she would have told them already.

* * *

Hiccup and Merida were hanging out in the club room when Jack marched in.

"Hey, we were wondering where you were."

"Yeah, so was I," Jack said. "Apparently, I overslept…like all day."

"Oh, come off it. You must be joking," Merida said. "I bet you were off playing."

"Believe me, Merida, if I were off playing, I would be bragging about getting away with it. I wasn't off playing. I really did sleep all day."

"Are you Ok?" Hiccup asked. "You think you were sick? Maybe you should visit the nurse?"

"No thanks, just been."

"Was anything wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"She didn't say anything." Jack stared at the door, running his fingers though his hair as he answered, "I doubt it was anything to worry about. So are you two gonna tell me what I missed in History of Magic and Transfiguration or what?"

Hiccup and Merida proceeded to share the previous day's events with Jack. Jack tried to copy Hiccup's notes, but couldn't because Hiccup had written them in Norse runes. Instead, Hiccup read out loud what he'd written and Jack copied it down. Merida wasn't much better at taking notes than Jack was, having far more doodles in proportion to actual words, but she managed to convey what they'd learned the day before. When Jack was all caught up, Merida told the boys what she'd overheard last night.

"…and the strange part is, her bed was covered in ice, with a fern-like pattern carved into it, just like the one you drew last year."

"Nice story Merida, but you'll have to do better to scare me," Jack said.

"It's not a story! I swear. She really did disappear."

"Yeah, right. If she's real, what's her name?"

"Hold on. I know they said it…Clara…Cassie, no Clarisse. That's it. Her name was Clarisse." Merida said confidently. Jack's eyes widened and he backed up against the door. He clutched his head.

"..no…how would I… it must be a coincidence."

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"I…I...it doesn't matter. Forget it." Jack suddenly looked very pale, "I have to go. I'll see you later."

Jack darted out of the room leaving Hiccup and Merida to stare after him.

"I wonder what that was about?" Hiccup finally said.

"He probably remembered a prank left unattended for too long." Merida shrugged. Hiccup didn't buy that, but decided to let it go. Jack never came back to the club room that day, and Rapunzel never came at all. By noon, Merida was completely bored with studying. Hiccup sat cross-legged in a chair with a book in one hand and a wand in the other while Merida lay on the floor listening to Hiccup read as she watched the clouds roll by.

"…And don't forget that the wand movement for the skurge charm is down," Hiccup read out loud from his book, making the motion with his left hand.

"I miss Jack," she said. Hiccup almost dropped his book as Merida continued, "He's the most annoying git in the entire school, but he does make everything fun - no need for you to tell him I said that, of course."

"I miss him too, but it could be worse. Back home, I'm not exactly mister popularity. Fishlegs was my best friend throughout childhood, but now that we go to different schools, it's just not the same. He's still my friend, but we aren't best friends anymore."

"My best friend at home is my horse, Angus. It's not that I'm not popular, but there aren't a lot of other kids living in Castle Dunbroch. And the few who are there, well, Mum never gives me time to play with them. Apparently, a princess isn't supposed to roughhouse, or mingle with the commoners. I'm so glad mum didn't follow me here. I bet she wouldn't let me hang out with you either, since you're a commoner."

"Not exactly," Hiccup said. "I may not be a prince, but my dad is chief of the tribe. According to Archipelago law, that counts as having royal blood. Of course, it's not such a big deal on Berk. The island is just too small, and the dragon attacks too frequent for that. We all have to band together to fight the dragons."

"Lucky. I wish I could fight dragons."

"So do I," Hiccup said softly. "Every time a dragon attacks, dad makes me stay inside. It's so humiliating."

"Just go out. Make your mark."

"It's not that easy…let's get back to our work," Hiccup said, turning to face away from Merida. Merida gave him an odd look before picking up her books and attempting to join in the study session.

* * *

Rapunzel flinched as Mother Gothel pulled her hair. Gothel didn't seem to notice and kept pulling on the hair.

"Ow. Mother, please, it hurts," Rapunzel whimpered.

"Nonsense, Rapunzel, if you don't like having your hair braided, you should have stayed in your tower."

"I know, Mother, but do you have to pull so hard?"

"Fine," Mother Gothel said with a warning tone of danger, throwing down Rapunzel's hair. "Go. Leave! Let the school see your hair! I was only looking out for you. I'm just your mother, what do I know? I only raised you."

"No," Rapunzel pleaded, a panic in her voice, "I'm sorry, Mother. I…I know it's for my own good. Please help me braid my hair."

"Of course, darling, I'll always help with your hair, so long as you stay with me where it's safe."

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel said solemnly.

"So, dear, I heard there was quite a commotion in your dormitory last night. Are you positive you won't come live with me?"

"I don't think that's necessary, Mother. Toothiana told us Clarisse was just sick and had to leave suddenly."

"But how can you be sure, Rapunzel? Mumsy can't protect you from so far away. Aren't you worried you might be next?"

"I…I don't think so. Even if something did happen to Clarisse, the only thing we have in common is being girls in Ravenclaw. I didn't really know her."

"All the more reason to be afraid, Rapunzel dear. Feel free to come down here to the infirmary any time you feel scared."

"I will, Mother. I know I'm safe with you, I just…I guess I just…" Rapunzel murmured.

"Rapunzel! We've talked about the mumbling, dear."

"Sorry. I just think I'm safe with the Ravenclaws, too."

"I know dear, but if you feel safe in both places, why not come live with me?"

"We talked about this, Mother. I need to be there for my roommates; they like to study with me."

Gothel began to sing:

Why Rapunzel, look at you, a fragile little flower  
A second year at Hogwarts, none the less  
Yet you want to stay in Rav'nclaw Tower

"well, yes…" Rapunzel started, only for Gothel to cut her off.

Just because you like your housemates  
Guess I should have known that this would happen  
A year away from home, of course you'd be impressed

More will come soon

"When?" Rapunzel tried to interrupt. Gothel's finger to her lips quieted the girl.

When it's opportune  
Mother knows best

Mother knows best  
Please obey your mother  
Have you truly thought this through

Mother knows best  
I don't want to smother  
But I can't stand to see you blue

Bullies, making friends,  
Study groups, detention,  
Finding time for homework, zits

"NO," Rapunzel said.

"Yes."

Also broken pens,  
Noisy friends, suspension -  
Stop, no more, it's just too much, dear

Mother is here  
Mother can assist you  
Listen to me, you'll pass the test

Don't go alone  
Just stay home  
Mother knows best

Go ahead, stay with your roommates  
Go ahead, be a victim like Clarisse  
Me, I'm just warning you what awaits  
I'm only looking out for you, dear

Go ahead, desert me for your friends  
Leave me here alone, I should have guessed  
They'll start dating, leave you waiting  
Mother knows best

Mother knows best  
Take it from your mumsy  
Last year might have been a fluke

Your friends can be a pest  
Did they ever help you, No!  
They make me want to puke

Friends will move on  
Grow up and leave you  
Can you really blame them now?

Soon they'll be gone  
No one will remain true  
I'm the only one who'll stay here

The school is in trouble  
Only I can save you  
Stay with me, you'll do just fine.

"Rapunzel?" Gothel said, speaking.

"Yes?"

"Please, until we find out what happened to that girl, promise me you'll stay with me?"

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel sighed, bowing her head.

"I love you very much dear."

"I love you more."

"I love you most." Gothel kissed Rapunzel's hair, then finished her song:

Friends desert you  
They'll just hurt you  
Mother knows best

By this time, Gothel had finished braiding Rapunzel's hair so it only fell two feet behind her rather than the real length of forty-seven feet.

"There now, Rapunzel," Gothel said, patting her head. "Why don't you run up to your room and bring your belongings."

"Yes…Mother," Rapunzel said softly starting for her room. She knew it was only for her own good, but Rapunzel couldn't help feeling sad. She loved Mother Gothel, and wanted to make her happy, but was the freedom of being in a different part of the castle really too much to ask? Rapunzel cried as she packed her trunk and dragged it back down to the infirmary.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired to give Gothel a song because of a fan song called Silent Black, by 808mossmallow, which was taken from another Big Four fanfic, called Bonds Transcending Time. (I haven't actually read this fic, though it's on my to-read list).


	9. Rumors

Jack clutched his head as he made his way back down to the common room. It couldn't be true. He couldn't have attacked that girl…he didn't even know her. It had to be some kind of strange coincidence. But what are the chances that someone he had a reason to be mad at would go missing during a time he couldn't remember? And the ice on the bed…

Jack took deep breaths. He should think about this logically…even if he did have strange ice powers, or so Hiccup and Rapunzel told him…he had no way of getting into Ravenclaw tower? Right? It had to be a Ravenclaw.

Jack was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Camicazi until she was almost upon him.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she shouted, shoving him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Camicazi." Jack continued walking to the dungeons, Camicazi at his side.

"Why are you looking so glum? Nadder eat your homework?"

"What?" Jack said, not really hearing her.

"Just an expression where I come from. But what's got you so down? Is it the detention? Oh no, did someone spoil our prank?"

"No…I don't think so. Camicazi, did you see me yesterday? At all?"

"I sure did. I think you were sleepwalking, though. I tried to talk to you, but you just kept walking."

"What time was it?"

"Early, like before breakfast. I was practicing sword fighting in the common room. I don't think anyone else was up yet. Oh, and if anyone asks, you don't know anything about the nick I may have put in the couch."

Jack stared at her as they reached the common room, he wouldn't have even known if she hadn't said anything. Camicazi gave the password, _parsle_ _tongue_ , and the two entered the dungeon.

Before Jack could even take in what was happening, Camicazi dashed off. The common room was a flurry of activity. It seemed that almost every student in Slytherin was there, unusual seeing as it was still warm out.

Jack may not have had any friends in Slytherin, aside from Camicazi, but he was still a member of the house and very curious as to what drew the students in from the sunny October day.

Jack quietly approached the gathering. He wouldn't trust any of them to tell him, but maybe he could overhear them talking amongst themselves. So long as Derek didn't spot him, they probably wouldn't notice Jack and try to exclude him. He might as well be invisible.

"So…she just disappeared?" a first year boy Jack knew as Petri asked.

"No, you moron," a seventh year girl, Phillida, said. "She ran away."

"I heard she was kidnapped," a third year said.

"No no, you're both wrong," another seventh year, James, said. "The girl got sick and died."

"That's not true! Her roommates would have known."

"Do you really think the school would go around broadcasting that someone died? I heard they put memory charms on everyone and then spread the rumor that she ran away," James said. "Anyway, the school's probably better off without her. I heard she was dating a mudblood."

Jack backed away. They had to be talking about Clarisse. How many students went missing a day? Even at Hogwarts? Jack wondered what had happened to the girl. Could she really be dead? No. Merida had overheard the teachers talking to each other. Even if they were trying to keep a death a secret from the students, they'd have no reason to lie to each other, would they?

Jack went to the second year dormitory and lay down on the bed. He was still feeling pretty tired, though he doubted he could sleep after hearing those conversations. Jack ended up lying in bed dozing until it was time for dinner.

After eating silently with the other students, Jack headed down to the Potions room, to Professor Black's office. The Professor was already there when Jack walked in.

"So, I see you decided to show up today. I was wondering if skipping detentions was going to become a habit of yours."

"Hey, the only reason I missed yesterday was the side effects of that crumby potion you fed me," Jack said, irritation heavy in his voice.

"Come now, Jackson, you can't be blaming me for everything. I took care of you while you were under. You only slept for an hour. After that you got up, went back to your room, and apparently decided to play hooky. I should add another month to your sentence for skipping class and yesterday's detention. However, I am feeling generous today, so I will let you off with a warning this time. But please note, if you make any further mischief I will not hesitate to give you the worst year of your entire life."

Jack silently nodded. Normally he would have protested the accusation, but seeing as he had no explanation as to why he'd disappeared, he decided to be grateful he wasn't punished for it and let Professor Black chew him out.

"Now, as for tonight's detention, you will wash all the cauldrons, bottles, and vials in the Potions room."

"You mean I don't have to drink another potion?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Not tonight, just in case there is some merit to your idea that the potion had side effects," Black said with a smile that showed too many teeth. Jack set about to work, scrubbing the cauldrons with Professor Black at his side. Jack's arms often burned when they came into contact with the residue on the cauldron. Pitch remained at his side the entire night, administering antidotes to the more serious injuries.

Jack was by nature a very talkative boy so as he cleaned he and the professor chatted. At first, it was mostly how classes were going. Jack didn't complain much, but Professor Black eventually turned the conversation to Jack's relationship with the Slytherin students. Jack hadn't had much contact with them; besides Derek and Camicazi the majority ignored him.

"I don't imagine that feels particularly good?" Black pressed.

"No. Not that I want to be liked by a bunch of pratts, but I do wish they would acknowledge me instead of pretending I don't exist. I have to say, mean as Derek is, at least he doesn't ignore me. Not like Thomas, Hugo, or Barnabus. It's even worse 'cause we're roommates. At least with the rest of the school I can pretend that they aren't talking to me because they don't know my name and are too shy to ask."

"Do you know their names?"

"Of course. I know everyone's name. It's the one thing I'm good at remembering. I remember everyone, be they from Burgess or Hogwarts."

"This is all very interesting, but what of your relationship with the older students, say, Sixth-years, besides Flynn."

"I don't know them, aside from their names. Jason, Mickey, Alec, Earl, Rolf, Edmund, and Cyrus, right? They were Flynn's roommates."

"Did he ever tell you about his first year?"

"No, only that there was another boy who didn't make it."

"Ah, yes, the tale of Eugene. I'll bet he never told you that he was also the victim of bullying."

"No…" Jack said softly.

"You only have four roommates, imagine how it felt to have seven ganging up on you. It got so bad I had to intervene."

"You? Flynn said you never intervene."

"I try not to. It's best for students to learn on their own, but Jason almost killed Flynn. When things become that serious, my intervention is required."

"Why didn't Flynn tell me?"

"I asked you once before…are you certain he was truthful with you?" Pitch Black asked. Jack didn't say anything. Maybe Flynn had lied, but why would he lie about Professor Black.

"I don't know," Jack finally said.

"Well, perhaps you are better off without him. If he couldn't even bother to tell you basic things about his life…"

"I guess," Jack said grumpily. He put aside the now clean cauldron he'd been working on and reached for another, only for the Professor to stop him.

"It's almost ten, Jackson. These cauldrons will be here tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep. You can finish these up tomorrow."

"Thank you, Professor," Jack said before getting up.

"One more thing, Jack," Professor Black said. "I would not mention this conversation to anyone if you know what's good for you. It took several charms to get the kids to forget what they did to Flynn, should you mention this to anyone, they may remember and decide to hurt you in the same way."

"Yes, sir," Jack said before taking off for his dormitory. No need to tell him not to tell anyone, Jack wasn't really close enough friends with anyone in his house to tell them. He also wouldn't tell Merida, Rapunzel, or Hiccup. Merida wouldn't want to hear about Flynn, and telling her about the others would only reinforce the idea that all Slytherins were evil.

Hiccup might be empathetic, but he'd already chastised Jack for dwelling on Flynn instead of the friends he still had. Rapunzel would be the best to tell, but Jack didn't want to bother her with his problems while she's busy dealing with her mother. Not to mention, Jack had never exactly told the other three what the deal was with his roommates. They knew he didn't get along, but he never gave specifics. By the time Jack reached his dorm room the others were all there asleep.

He plopped onto his bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Merida awoke on Sunday to whispers. Pretending to sleep, she listened to the conversation between Rose, Jenet and Candace. They were discussing the missing student. Slowly Merida got up. She didn't need to hear their rumors, having overheard the heads of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, she knew most of the rumors couldn't be true. The only thing anyone knew for sure was that a girl was gone.

During breakfast, Merida spotted Hiccup and Jack, Rapunzel was missing, naturally. Neither of the boys looked very comfortable. Hiccup was nodding along with one of his housemates but didn't seem all that invested in the conversation. Jack, for his part, seemed to be paying too much attention, listening to a little blonde Slytherin girl chatting his ear off. She kept stabbing him with a fork anytime he seemed distracted.

Merida looked away. She didn't want any of the Gryffindors to get the idea that she liked any of the Slytherins. Despite hanging out with Jack on a regular basis, Merida hadn't exactly broadcast the fact that they were friends. As far as the rest of the school knew, Merida only sat next to Jack because there were no other seats available. All time outside of class with Jack was spent in the empty classroom on the seventh floor where no one could see them.

Merida finished her breakfast and headed up to the empty classroom. Soon after, Hiccup showed up. They waited for Jack, and if they were lucky, Rapunzel, but neither of them came up. Eventually, out of boredom, Merida got Hiccup talking about home.

"So, dragons, huh?" Merida said. "I bet there's a lot of glory in killing one of them."

"Oh, you bet. Every Viking wants to kill a dragon, but not every dragon is created equal."

"Really, so what's the best?"

"The Night Fury, without a doubt. Nobody's even seen one, let alone killed one."

"How do you know they exist if you can't see them?"

"Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We can hear the Night Fury. It has this awful howl, the only warning before it attacks. You hear that call, get down, something is about to blow up."

"So do these dragons do anything else? Besides blowing stuff up?"

"They steal food mostly, except the Night Fury. And sheep, and sometimes oxen, or Vikings. I think I saw one carrying off a whale once, but it was kind of far away."

"How many different kinds of dragons are there?"

"I'm not sure. There's the ones that visit Berk a lot, like the Gronkle, Nightmare, Terror and Nadder, oh and the Zippleback, sometimes. Then there are the ones that live nearby but don't bother the village so often, like Thunderdrums and Fireworms, and then the ones that most Vikings only see a few times in a lifetime, like the Whispering Death, Norwegian Ridgeback or Changewing. There are others, but I haven't taken a real good look at the Book of Dragons, and since they never attack Berk I can't recall anything about them."

"If I were to visit Berk, which one do you think I should try to take?"

"You? Well, I know how brave you are, so I guess you'd want a Night Fury. But if you're planning to fight with your bow and arrows you might have a problem. Most dragons have really springy skin. I'm not sure your arrows are strong enough."

"Hiccup? I'm a witch, aren't I? I could cast a spell."

"No. If it were that easy we would have gotten rid of our pest problem three hundred years ago. Spells don't work on most dragons."

"Why not?"

"Same reason your arrows wouldn't work. Their skin is too thick and springy. I've heard spells do work on the Changewing, but they're so hard to see hitting one with a spell is nearly impossible."

"So what do you think the chances are of a dragon showing up here in England?"

"I don't know. My dad thinks we see them on Berk so often because their nest is close by. He's been trying to get rid of it since before I was born. If he ever actually succeeds maybe they'll move down here."

"I hope they move to near Castle Dunbroch. Fighting dragons would be more fun than princess lessons." Merida grabbed her wand and pretended it was a sword as she fenced with an imaginary dragon. She fought it valiantly, just as she hoped to do in real life one day. Maybe she could even kill a Night Fury. They couldn't be as hard to get as Hiccup said. Of course he could never get one, just look at him, he could barely cast spells. And she doubted he was even capable of lifting a sword, let alone killing with one.

Merida and Hiccup intended to spend the rest of the day together in the empty classroom, but no sooner had Merida collapsed in a chair, tired of her imaginary sword fight, than a bell rang throughout the castle. Merida had only heard a bell like that once before, the night her brothers were born. This bell meant there was an announcement to be made.

Quickly Hiccup and Merida returned to their common rooms hoping for answers. When Merida stepped into Gryffindor tower she found the rest of her house huddled around Professor Bunnymund.

"Gather 'round ev'ry one, gather 'round. I know there've been some rumors goin' 'round about a missing student. There's nothin' to worry about. However, to ensure that rumors like this don't emerge again, Headmaster Ombric asked that heads of house keep better tabs on their students. Look kids, I'm sorry I have to do this to ya, but there'll be some new rules until this mess is settled."

* * *

Rapunzel listened as Toothiana explained the new rules.

"The first new rule: attendance will be taken before breakfast every morning. Don't worry, that won't take too long. The second new rule is that the curfew is being changed. From here on out, all students, whether seventh or first year, are to be in their dormitories by nine. I know this is quite a change for the older students who are used to staying up until eleven, but please, until this whole mess is all sorted out, I need to be able to keep track of you, and it's just easier for me if you're all in your rooms earlier. Please do this. Thank you."

When Toothiana concluded her speech Rapunzel slowly approached. Nervously she twisted her long blonde braid.

"Um, Professor?"

"What is it dear?" Professor Toothiana asked gently, her feathered dress and wimple shimmering in the candlelight.

"It's just…Mother…kinda wants me to…" Rapunzel bit her lip, expecting Toothiana to scold her for mumbling, but Toothiana remained patient and Rapunzel finally got to the point, "She wants me to live with her in the infirmary."

"Oh yes, I spoke with your mother about that. Since she's an employee and your guardian we decided it was alright if you stay with her, so long as both she and I know where you should be. From my conversation with her, I take it you'll be there the majority of the time. If you decide to move back into Ravenclaw tower, make sure you tell both of us, so we know which one should be expecting you."

"Yes, of course," Rapunzel said gratefully as she left the tower. Part of her was relieved she could keep her promise to Mother Gothel, but another part was sad that Professor Toothiana hadn't stood up for her. Rapunzel wanted to be in Ravenclaw Tower, not with Mother Gothel.

When Rapunzel reached the infirmary she couldn't find Gothel. That was somewhat normal. Gothel never seemed to be around when Rapunzel was looking for her. Even in her tower in the glen, often Gothel would be gone before Rapunzel woke up. She'd come around sometime later to have Rapunzel sing to her before she left again. But she'd always come back before dinner.

Rapunzel sighed and sank down onto her bed in Gothel's quarters. Her homework done, no chores left by Mother Gothel to do, now would be a perfect time to slip out and visit Merida, Hiccup or Jack…except that because of the new rules they were unlikely to be out. Flipping over, Rapunzel reached into her trunk and pulled out her sketchbook. Maybe she could make a drawing for them…maybe then they wouldn't forget her.


	10. More Trouble

Hiccup flipped through his textbook, but his mind wasn't in it. Being only a second year, he thought the new rules weren't too bad. The only change he would notice was the addition of a roll call in the morning. Nothing they didn't do on Berk after a dragon attack to see who might have been dragged off.

On a good day, it was no one, but Hiccup could name several occasions where not everyone was ok. Usually the missing were children or the elderly. That's why there were so few on Berk. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs Snotlout and the twins were the only children who made it to wizarding school age, and Mildew and Gothi were the only adults who made it past 70. There were still a few younger children on Berk; the village was working hard to ensure that they survived.

It wasn't only that the dragons were carrying people off, sometimes in the confusion during the attacks, kids would be underfoot, and when everything was catching on fire, and large dragons and sometimes even larger Vikings were falling all around it could be quite confusing.

Once, while trying to escape a burning building when he was six, Hiccup had fallen off the cliff in the dark. Stoick had seen it just in time to keep Hiccup from falling all the way, but the ordeal had given him a small scar on his chin.

Hiccup closed his book. There was no way he'd be able to study tonight. Even if it weren't for the new rules, the conversation with Merida was distracting him.

She had reminded him about all the dragon attacks. While he didn't mind at the time, now all he could see was how much like everyone else on Berk she was, and how unlike them all he was.

Hiccup hadn't caught a dragon, or done anything heroic. The only thing he ever did that saved anyone was use the Summoning Spell last year…and even that shouldn't have been such a big deal. If he hadn't been doing it wrong before, he wouldn't have even needed to cast that spell. He could have just destroyed the horses with a defense spell from Berk.

Why couldn't he be a natural at magic? Or a natural at ax throwing? Or a natural at anything? With a sigh Hiccup went into his dorm room. His roommates Robert, Crispin and William were there discussing the missing girl.

Hiccup half listened to them. They didn't seem to have any new information. It was all just rumors. Eventually the conversation died out and one by one the boys went to sleep.

The next morning after roll call, Hiccup headed down to the Potions dungeon. Jack was already there, looking very tired.

"Hey buddy? Something wrong? You left so early the other day."

"Ugh. I don't want to talk about it," Jack said, plopping his head down on the desk.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…not here at least," Jack whispered, his eyes darting around the dungeon taking in the dark shadows. Hiccup looked around too, there were only a few other students in the classroom and no sign of Professor Black, but Hiccup remembered his shadow trick. No telling when Black might pop out and overhear them.

The boys waited in silence for class to start. Soon Pitch Black appeared and the boys were resigned to taking notes.

About halfway into the lesson Hiccup glanced over at Jack's paper. Unlike Hiccup's notes, Jack's were written in the English alphabet, not the Norse one. As Hiccup watched Jack, an idea popped into his head.

* * *

Merida watched Rapunzel twirling her hair during Transfiguration. The lecture was over; it was back to practice.

Rapunzel pulled out her wand and spoke the incantation but nothing happened. Merida stared at the rat. It should be a goblet, but there it remained, a live animal. Not one jewel, color change, or shift in shape at all.

Again, Rapunzel made the motion and said the incantation. Again, nothing happened. Rapunzel shrugged. Merida looked down at her own rat. Picking up her wand she cast the same spell. Her rat shifted, turning into a goblet, but it still had whiskers, claws and a tail.

"Nice work, but try to focus a bit more," Professor Bunnymund said, turning the rat-goblet back into a rat. "You need to perfect it. When you only do it halfway like that there's a chance the rat will be in pain."

"It's just a rat," Merida said, prodding it with her wand.

"Never underestimate a rodent, mate. Just because somethin's not human doesn't mean it can't feel. Now, how about you Rapunzel? Want to give the spell a try?"

Rapunzel nodded, not saying that she'd tried it before. Once more Rapunzel cast the spell and once more nothing happened. Bunnymund watched it as she cast again. Nothing happened.

"Is everything alright?" Bunnymund asked. "You've cast perfect spells before."

"Sorry," Rapunzel said with a shrug. "I…I'm just a bit tired. I'll do better next time."

"Good. Just make sure you don't hurt the rat." Professor Bunnymund left their table and went off to help other students. Rapunzel tried again but nothing happened.

"Are you ok?" Merida finally asked.

"I…I'm fine. Really."

"You sure?"

"It's just…you know…that girl?" Rapunzel said softly. "She was in Ravenclaw."

"Oh, right. But it was just one girl. You have next hour off, right? Come back to our club room. We can discuss this in private there."

Rapunzel nodded and the girls continued their work. Eventually Rapunzel did manage to turn her rat into a goblet, although it still had fur, and Merida got hers to look like a goblet, but it squeaked when she put water in it. As class ended, Bunnymund turned them all back into rats.

Merida and Rapunzel walked up to the empty classroom. Hiccup and Jack came in soon after. The four students pulled up chairs and sat down to discuss their situation.

"Guys," Hiccup said. "I have a plan."

"What do we need a plan for?" Jack asked.

"You didn't want to talk to me in Potions," Hiccup started, "because of Professor Black, right?"

"Yeah. He's the head of Slytherin. I can't say anything in front of him. You know the new rules the school enacted last night? Well, he went a step further. He called all the other professors cowards and then said any student in Slytherin who even so much as mentions leaving their room after hours will be expelled. And anyone caught withholding information will be killed. I think the last part was just a threat, but I don't want to risk it. He's scary when he wants to be."

"This is great," Hiccup said.

"Um, Hiccup. No offence, but this is not what I'd call great," Merida said.

"No, I mean, this is great for my plan. We don't know what made that girl go missing, but if it was one of the other students or faculty, we need to be able to communicate with each other in secret."

"And how would we do that?" Merida asked.

"Runes," Hiccup said.

"What good are ruins?" Jack asked.

"No, not ruins, runes, as in Norse runes. I can teach you. We can pass notes in class without fear of anyone reading them."

"But…don't they teach Ancient Runes here? Isn't it possible some students or professors might know them?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah, so we just have to change it up a little. I think Berk runes are a bit different from the ones they teach here anyway. Next free period I'm going to check the library, maybe ask the older students. Rapunzel, I need your help. Your mother works for the school right? See if you can get her to find out which professors are skilled in runes."

"I'm not sure Mother would help me."

"Just try. I'll be asking my head of house, as well. I'm going to say that I'm considering taking it next year."

"Hiccup. It's only October. We don't choose classes until Easter," Merida said.

"It's never too early to start thinking of your future," Hiccup replied.

"Oh, come on. Live in the moment. You're only young once," Merida said forcefully.

"Not me," Jack said. "I don't want to ever grow up. I could stay a boy forever."

"Everyone grows up," Rapunzel said. "We can't help it."

"I know," Jack said, then smirked, "but that won't stop me from trying. If I can find a way to be young forever, I'm taking it. That's my ambition."

"What about your family?" Hiccup asked.

"Maybe when I find a spell I can cast it on them, too. Anyway, that's too far in the future. Let's think about the here and now. You wanna start teaching us runes?"

"Sure. We'll start with the alphabet. It's called futhark…"

* * *

The next few days passed quickly. Jack devoted himself to studying the Norse runes. Normally he would have found it boring, but now it was a welcome distraction from the fear and guilt Jack felt about Clarisse. He still couldn't believe that he had somehow harmed her…and yet, if he didn't, then who did? And why couldn't Jack remember what really happened that night?

The only up side, was that Pitch Black had stopped giving him potions to try. He spent every detention scrubbing out cauldrons. True, Jack did get burns on his arms, but at least he knew where they came from.

By the time October 30th came around Jack was starting to think the whole affair had been a nightmare caused by the potion. He was just starting to feel like his old self, planning Halloween pranks with Camicazi. Together they sat on the comfiest couch in the Slytherin dungeon.

"I say we strike in the Great Hall for maximum impact," Camicazi said.

"But then we can't control the victim, some of our friends might get caught."

"It's just a harmless little-" Camicazi shut up as some of the other students came closer. Jack eyed them warily: sixth years; they were discussing the missing student.

"It's too bad Flynn isn't here," the one called Jason said. "I'd love for him to go missing. He never belonged here anyway."

Jack's vision blurred as the words reached his ears; his hearing became distant and fuzzy.

"Jack, Jack? Are you alright?" Camicazi asked.

"Huh?" Jack said, his vision and hearing returning to normal.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Jack lied, not feeling fine at all. "Just a little tired. Let's talk about this tomorrow."

"But tomorrow is Halloween!"

"Exactly, everyone will be expecting pranks on Halloween. Let's wait, and strike when no one will suspect."

"Okay," Camicazi said cheerfully as Jack got up and left. He barely made it to his bed before he collapsed into a fitful sleep.

Hours passed as Jack floated in and out of consciousness. He felt himself in his bed, but then suddenly he could feel the cold night air and something wet and soft. _Snow_ , Jack thought. There was a strange scuffling noise, and a shout, and then Jack was asleep again.

The next time Jack awoke he was cold. Very cold. His eyes flickered open and he found himself lying by the edge of the lake, a thin layer of ice coating it, with strange swirly patterns on it, what he called _frost._

Groggily Jack got up. The icy grass crackled beneath his feet as he walked back to the castle. This time he went straight to the infirmary, not with the intent of talking to Rapunzel but with the intent of talking to the nurse. Jack had only been to see her once before, after he and Merida crashed in the forest last year. She had been kind to him then, letting him stay in the infirmary even though he wasn't seriously hurt and promising not to tell anyone he was there. Jack was hoping she would also keep these blackouts a secret.

When Jack reached the infirmary it was not the nurse who met him, but rather Gothel. The woman, looking very young at the moment, smiled a crocodile smile at Jack. Jack almost turned right around and left, but just then he felt a wave of dizziness. No matter how he felt about Gothel, if he was about to have another blackout it would be good to have witness to what he did.

"Can I help you, dear?" Gothel asked.

"Uh, yeah, can you get the nurse?" Jack answered.

"She's away at the moment, but I'm sure I can help with whatever ails you. Come now, let Mumsy take care of you."

Jack paused for a long time before saying, "Sure."

Gothel had him sit on one of the beds while she checked him over asking occasional questions.

"So what seems to be the problem?" she probed.

"I…I haven't been sleeping well. I fall asleep fine, but then I have nightmares…or wake up in strange places."

"I see. Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No, I don't think."

"Good boy. With the school on high alert because of those disappearances, I'd hate for you to cause a panic with this thing."

"Wait … disappearances? I thought it was only Clarisse?"

"Didn't you hear the commotion last night? Another student disappeared…a Slytherin named Jason. He vanished on Halloween, left behind a trail of frost, just like Clarisse."

"Today's not Halloween?"

"No sweetie, Halloween was yesterday," Gothel said. Jack clutched his head. So he did miss another day of life. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't have attacked Jason.

"I need to go," Jack said suddenly.

"What about your problem?" Gothel asked. Jack thought for a minute, he didn't want to admit that he may have been the attacker, but he needed some way to keep himself from doing it again.

"Do you have anything that can help me sleep?" Jack asked.

"Yes, dear. We have plenty of sleeping draughts. Come up here tonight and I'll give you some."

"Thank you." Jack hopped off the bed and ran from the room, desperate to get up to the empty classroom. If Halloween was yesterday, that meant today was Sunday. Hiccup and Merida should be there, at least…although it was still early.

Jack was the first one in the empty classroom. He moved a chair by the window, focusing on looking out at the grounds below. Two students were missing, two students somehow connected to Flynn Rider, two students who had disappeared in a trail of frost.

As Jack thought about it, he noticed the window icing over with his patterns. For the first time Jack recognized his ice powers and they frightened him. He hadn't been trying to frost the window, if he could lose control over this, maybe he did lose control during the night.

Jack sat down and pulled his knees up to his chest to wait for someone else to come into the room. After the sun had been up for a considerable amount of time, Hiccup and Merida did come into the room.

"Jack?" Hiccup said in shock. "You're alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jack asked.

"The school…at breakfast they announced two students were missing from Slytherin, Jason and you. We thought you had been attacked," Merida said.

"No…but I might be the attacker," Jack confessed.

"What?" Hiccup exclaimed.

"I don't know! I don't remember anything. All I know is that I have no memory of anything that happened last night, and I have strange ice powers."

"Look, Jack, I may not like you," Merida said, "but even I know you didn't do this."

"How do you know? Even I don't know," Jack said.

"We believe in you, Jack," Hiccup said. "You couldn't do this. But since you still need convincing, we'll help."

"How?"

"I don't know…yet. But I'll think of something. Maybe my dad or Gobber knows a spell that can help. Have you seen the nurse?"

"Sort of," Jack answered. "She wasn't in, but Gothel looked. She said she had a sleeping draught I could take."

"Did you tell her everything?"

"No…should I?"

"Not yet…wait until after I've talked to my dad. In the meantime you should probably go see your head of house before Hogwarts goes into high alert."

Jack nodded and headed back down to the Slytherin dungeons. When he stepped into the common room everyone took a step back, all but Camicazi. Camicazi walked right up to Jack.

"Where were you?" Jack looked down at the child. Just one year younger, but with her big eyes and the way she looked up at him, it reminded Jack of his little sister. He didn't want to hurt her.

"I don't know," he replied truthfully. Before she could ask any more question Professor Black stepped out of the shadows.

"Jack Frost. I believe we need to talk," Pitch Black said. Jack bowed his head and followed Black to his office. Despite all the times Jack had been in detention, he had always gone to the office in the Potions dungeon. This was the first time Jack had been in Black's office in the Slytherin Dungeon.

"Jack, Jack, Jack. Why must you always be getting in trouble? Sit." Pitch practically pushed Jack down on a stiff backed wooden chair. Jack kept his eyes glued to the floor, feeling too guilty to look up.

"So, do you have an excuse for your absence during morning roll call?"

"No sir," Jack said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You do realize how bad this looks? Being missing the same day another student disappears. Do you have any comments?"

"No sir," Jack said, for truly there was nothing he could say, being unsure himself.

"Very well, I suppose I shall have to-" Just as Black was about to say Jack's punishment the door to his office burst open and Gothel walked in.

"Pitch, that boy has an alibi. He was with me," she said. She gave a wink at Jack.

"Oh, well, that's different. Why didn't you say anything, Jack?" Black said. Jack looked at Gothel. She was lying, he might have seen her this morning, but he wasn't with her all night. She knew that student was missing before he came to see her.

"Let the child come with me," Gothel said. "This has been a tiring experience for us all. I should check the state of his health."

"Very well," Pitch Black said, "but he's still in trouble for missing roll call. Jackson, after Gothel releases you from the infirmary you are to come straight to my office. You will remain with me until I release you."

Jack nodded as he left with Gothel. He didn't mind having them babysit him, at least then he wouldn't be able to attack anyone else.

Gothel led the way back to the infirmary. After they reached the floor above the dungeons Jack decided to question her.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Lie."

"Oh, sweetie, I didn't lie. You were with me."

"Not all night."

"No…But Pitch didn't ask that, did he? And anyway, I did it for Rapunzel. She would be heartbroken if you got expelled."

"Pitch was going to expel me?"

"I can't say for sure but look at the facts: you and another student disappeared together, and only you came back. It looks bad, Jack. Add that to all the other mischief you've caused and it's only natural to expel you. You could be a danger to society."

Jack fell silent. Gothel was right. He could be dangerous, and all the worse because he couldn't control it. Part of Jack wished he had been expelled, at least then the school would be safe. So what if he was cursed to the life of a shepherd, so what if he could never use magic again, so what if his family would always be struggling to get food during the winter. It was worth it for the safety of his friends.

When they reached the infirmary, Rapunzel was waiting. She ran over and hugged Jack fiercely.

"I was so worried," Rapunzel said, not letting go. "When the school announced you were missing…but then Hiccup and Merida found me and told me what happened."

Rapunzel still hadn't let go of Jack, but he didn't mind. He hadn't been hugged like that since he left his mother for the Hogwarts Express.

"Rapunzel, dear," Gothel interrupted, "you have work to do."

"Right," Rapunzel finally broke off her hug. "But I can do it with Jack, can't I?"

"Later, pet," Gothel said. "First I need to examine him, alone. Patient confidentiality, you know."

"Yes, Mother." Rapunzel left the two of them alone. As soon as she had gone, Gothel turned to Jack.

"Before you were telling me about blackouts. Is that what happened this time?"

"Did I say blackouts?" Jack asked, trying to remember what he had said.

"Something like that, I inferred it. So did it happen?"

Jack nodded.

"And you have no memory of what happened at all?"

"Nope."

"Curious. Was there anything else unusual?"

"No, well, unless you count getting tired all of a sudden."

"Hm. That is strange. I would like to keep an eye on you. I want you to come by every morning and night so I can see if anything is changing. You can start tonight when you come by for the sleeping draught," Gothel smiled at Jack, a smile that made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, but considering his current state, he wanted to be monitored, so he nodded.

"Excellent. You may go back to Pitch now."

"What about Rapunzel?" Jack asked.

"She has work to do. You can see her tonight. Go now, or you'll be in trouble for dallying."

Jack followed her advice and went back to the Slytherin dungeons, straight to Black's office. At first he assumed the room was empty, only for a shadow to move, revealing Pitch Black to be its caster.

"Well, what's the verdict?" Pitch Black asked. Jack told him the results of the examination.

"Very well. You may visit Gothel freely. Now, about your punishment. I will expect you to report to me every morning and night, and tell me in detail what you have done since the last time we spoke."

"Yes sir," Jack bowed his head. He didn't like the idea of having to tell Black everything, but it wasn't the worst possible punishment.

Professor Black dismissed Jack and the boy went back to his room, not caring that it was still fairly early in the morning; he was tired and just needed to sleep.

* * *

As soon as Jack left, Pitch transported himself to the infirmary, stepping out of the shadows just behind Gothel.

"So?" Pitch asked. Gothel jumped.

"Do you have to scare me like that?" she asked.

"Of course, my dear, your fear is just as potent as any student's. Did Jackson buy it?"

"I don't know. He seemed to buy it...but he doesn't quite trust me yet."

"And why would that be? Hm? You haven't let your pathetic quest for immortality get in the way of spreading fear, have you?"

"Easy for you to say, you're already immortal."

"It's not my fault you pathetic humans are so short lived. Why do you think you need the power of the sun to be immortal? The sun is a star, and the stars are from my world. All those from my world will live for as long as the stars, dying only when killed. The only way you humans can even hope to live as long is if you manage to find something from the heavens, like your drop of sun or moon. Back to the matter at hand, why doesn't Jackson trust you?"

"How should I know? Maybe Rapunzel's been saying bad things about me. I'll have a talk with her."

"Don't."

"But-"

"Do not interfere with their friendship. It would only make the other three resent you, and that won't help my plans at all. Encourage them. Make them see you as a benevolent mother figure…make it so that if they ever start to suspect what we are doing they will come to you for advice."

"How?"

"I will give them a gentle push in your direction. I've already started with Jack. You just need to find the right words to help their trust grow. Use Rapunzel to your advantage."

Pitch had been circling Gothel during his monologue but now he stopped and glanced out the window.

"It's a beautiful day, perfect to start scaring people. I have shadows to make, children to terrify. Get those kids to trust you or else." Pitch stepped back into the shadows leaving Gothel alone.


	11. The Attack

The snows came and Hiccup watched from the window of the empty classroom. It had been getting harder and harder to meet up with the other three. The school was on high alert. While no official rule had been put in place, students now feared going anywhere alone and nearly everyone feared sleep. Many of the students were taking turns staying up at night. Hiccup found it rather pointless.

Coming from a place where you frequently had to be ready to fend off an attack in the middle of the night, he figured it was better to get sleep while you could rather than tiring yourself out waiting for an attack that might never happen.

His roommates found this attitude somewhat reckless, and said as much to him one day in Potions. Hiccup and Jack were working on making the Swelling Solution when they overheard two of Hiccup's roommates, William and Crispin, discussing the matter.

"If you ask me," Crispin was saying, "we ought to all be pitching in. Anyone who doesn't is not only dooming themselves, but risking everyone else's lives by making the rest of us sleep deprived."

Hiccup sighed but said nothing. Jack, on the other hand, jumped to his defense.

"Hey, we don't know what happened to those people. For all we know, the students just vanish, it might not even matter if you're awake or not. And even if you are warned, we don't know what it is. You might not be able to fight it off!"

"Watch it, Slytherin," William said. "I heard that the thing dragging off students is the monster your house controls…the one in the Chamber of Secrets."

"What monster?" Hiccup said. "The school was founded centuries ago. It's not like any monster would still be living in the school. And anyway, there's no such thing as the Chamber of Secrets. My dad would have told me."

"Figured the house traitor would side with a Slytherin," Crispin said. Jack leapt to his feet but Hiccup grabbed his arm.

"Jack, don't," Hiccup said. Jack continued to eye the other Hufflepuffs warily but sat down again. Hiccup gave a grateful smile. Jack relaxed but didn't return it.

"It's not fair. They shouldn't be mean to you like that."

"It's okay, Jack. They're right. I never spend time in Hufflepuff. I always hang out with either you, Rapunzel or Merida. But please don't fight with them. They aren't usually bad, it's just that they're scared. And anyway, they are my roommates, after all."

Jack nodded but still didn't smile.

"Besides, I'm used to being the screw up. You should see what it's like on Berk."

"Well, it shouldn't be. You're the best wizard here."

"Thanks. But that's not true." Hiccup turned back to the Swelling Solution. He'd made this potion before on Berk. Once as a child he had even tried using the Swelling Solution on himself, hoping to grow some muscles to be like the rest of the people on Berk. Of course, it didn't work. He ended up looking like he had the mumps and had to go to Gothi for a healing spell.

Just as the boys had almost completed their potion, Professor Black popped out of the shadows behind them. Hiccup started to drop the potion but Jack caught it in time.

"Excellent work boys," the professor said. "I see you aren't letting your quest for Flynn derail you."

Hiccup eyed the professor as he spoke to Jack. Hiccup had almost forgotten about Flynn. Ever since Clarisse had disappeared, Jack had become reclusive on the matter of Flynn. Hiccup hadn't pressed the issue hoping Jack would stop thinking about it and focus on the friends he still had.

"Quest for Flynn?" Jack said.

"Aren't you still seeking him? Or has he finally written to you?"

"No," Jack said softly. "I haven't heard anything."

"Pity," Professor Black said, then stepped back into the shadows. The wheels in Hiccup's brain turned. Why would Professor Black bring up Flynn? Maybe there was something strange about Flynn's disappearance…disappearance?! Just like Clarisse and Jason!

"Jack. When did Flynn leave?" Hiccup asked.

"Professor Black said he left on Easter."

"Easter…" Hiccup pulled out a paper. Quickly he scribbled in runes, _Do you remember what we did on Easter. Don't answer out loud_.

Jack nodded, then took the charcoal from Hiccup and wrote back in very sloppy runes. _You slept all day. But Rapunzel, Merida and me hunted for Easter eggs._

Hiccup read the note and he did remember, in fact he remembered exactly what they had done the night before, and more importantly, he remembered seeing Flynn that very night.

By now all the students had finished their potions. Professor Black started giving a lecture. Hiccup scribbled a note for Jack and slipped it in his bag. Black soon dismissed them and the boys went off to their separate tables in the Great Hall.

After eating a hearty meal, Hiccup raced up to the library. The boys had next period free, but Hiccup didn't want to spend it in the empty classroom with Jack. He had more important things to search for.

* * *

During lunch, Jack found himself seated next to Camicazi. The girl would not stop talking. Jack wasn't too upset. After being ignored all of last year it was kind of nice to have someone paying attention to him, even if he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

About halfway through lunch she was demonstrating how she would slay the monster and save the school. She lunged and the fork she was pretending was a sword fell out of her hand into Jack's bag. Camicazi reached down for it.

"What's this?" she asked pulling out a piece of parchment. Jack looked over her shoulder at the page of Runes, Hiccup's handwriting. Jack grabbed the paper from her, thankful she couldn't read the runes. After all, the class was only offered to older students.

"I didn't know you could read runes," Camicazi said.

"I have a tutor. It's just practice."

"You know, everyone writes in runes back home, but most of the ones here are different." Camicazi said it innocently, but it still made Jack freeze.

"Different how?"

"Just some of them are different. I looked at a seventh year's rune paper and I could only make out half of what it said. It's like most of the words were misspelled, and a few of the runes were different. But not your note. I could read that easy peasy."

Jack tensed up. The whole point of using runes was to keep others from reading them. Jack looked at the note. All it said was _I'll be in the library after lunch. See you in Transfiguration_. Nothing too important, thankfully.

"Camicazi…can anyone else here read this?"

"I don't think so. Everyone else from my tribe went to Durmstrang. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one from the Archipelago who went to Hogwarts.

"The Archipelago? Does that include a little island named Berk?"

"Oh, you know it? Berk's not too close to the Bog-Burglar Islands. The Hooligans live there. I think we're at war with them…or we would be if we weren't at war with the Dragons."

"Can you do something for me?"

"Of course I CAN. The question is whether or not I WILL. What do you want?"

"I want to know for sure how many others can read runes like these. Teachers and students included. Will you do that?"

"Why?"

"It's a secret…but if you do this for me, we can use the runes to communicate, too. Imagine how much more effective our pranks can be if we can write them out. Besides, you're the sneakiest person in the whole school; if you can't do it, no one can."

"Hmm... Okay."

Jack smiled at the girl before turning back to thoughts of Hiccup. He'd have to remember to ask Hiccup about the Hooligans and Bog-Burglars in Transfiguration. For now, Camicazi went back to imagining how she would stop whatever was causing the disappearances and protect the school.

* * *

Merida sat next to Rapunzel as they mixed their Swelling Solution after lunch. The two weren't the best in Potions but they were doing alright. At the beginning of the year Rapunzel had been excellent at making potions, and she was still good, but ever since she started living in the infirmary the quality of her work had begun to slip, and it was all the more noticeable because Potions was Merida's worst subject.

Merida looked into the cauldron. It was supposed to be a very thick potion but theirs was very runny. Rapunzel didn't even seem to notice. The girl's face seemed vacant as she poured the potion into a vial.

"Alright, what's wrong?" Merida finally asked when Rapunzel almost put the vial in her bag instead of on Professor Black's desk.

"Nothing's…wrong, why would you think that?"

"You're not a very good liar, Rapunzel. C'mon, you can tell me anythin'. Is it your mum?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. Mother says it's the disappearances. She's trying to keep me safe, but I just miss my friends, and my roommates. I just want to go back to Ravenclaw Tower!"

"Why don't you? C'mon, grow some guts. You can stand up to your mum, can't you? Just demand that you return to your room. Or ask a professor."

"Ask me what?" Professor Black said, stepping out of the shadows, causing both girls to jump. "I am here to help."

Rapunzel glanced at Merida. Merida nodded, trying to encourage the blonde to talk with Black. Rapunzel gulped and said, "Um yes, Professor, I was wondering, well, see-"

"Out with it, girl. Hasn't anyone ever told you not to mumble?" the Professor said harshly. Rapunzel shrank back.

"Well…it's just that I want to go back to my dorm."

"And what's preventing this, child?"

"My mother. She wants me to be with her," Rapunzel said softly. Professor Black leaned over her.

"Well, your mother sounds like a very responsible woman. With everything that's happened in this school, I'd suggest you follow her advice. Mother knows best, after all."

"Yes, sir." Rapunzel shank even more, as though trying to duck inside her hair. The professor left, and soon after, class ended. Merida tried to encourage Rapunzel to stand up for herself, but the girl refused to let her spirits be lifted. Reluctantly Merida left Rapunzel for the Gryffindor/Slytherin Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Rapunzel…you should go to the empty classroom. You and Hiccup have the next hour free, right? Maybe he can talk some sense into you," Merida suggested before turning into the Defense classroom.

After a minute Jack showed up and plopped down beside her.

"Merida, something's wrong."

"Did you see Rapunzel?"

"No, something is wrong with Hiccup."

"What?"

"He missed Transfiguration."

"What? But he never misses class."

"I know! What's wrong with Rapunzel?"

"She's upset about her mum. I don't blame her, I'd be upset if it were my mum too, but she's just not herself."

"Great. More problems. I'll handle helping Rapunzel. I visit Gothel every night anyway. She usually keeps Rapunzel locked away when I'm there, but tonight I'll demand to see her. Back to Hiccup."

"Do you think his disappearance is related to the others?"

"I hope not," Jack whispered. Merida and Jack only half paid attention to Professor Bunnymund, preferring to pass notes, written in runes, discussing their plans to find Hiccup.

The second class let out the two bolted, Merida not even caring if the Gryffindors saw her with a Slytherin in her worry over Hiccup. The first places they checked were the secret passages. Jack had found most of them in his first year, he had a knack for finding passages. Merida herself had been locked behind one around Halloween. But Hiccup was nowhere to be found.

Next they checked the library, since that was where Hiccup had indicated he'd be in his letter, though they found no sign of him. The librarian, Mr. Qwerty, did mention that Hiccup had spent the better part of the period after lunch wandering through the stacks, and even dared to ask to browse the restricted section, but was denied. Hiccup left without checking anything out.

After the disappointing trip to the library, Jack and Merida next decided to check in the infirmary. When they entered, they were hit with the smell of cooking eggs. They followed the scent and found Rapunzel huddled over a small, wizard-cast fire, with a frying pan full of eggs.

"What are you doing, lass?" Merida asked.

"Cooking?" Rapunzel replied weakly, looking up at the two.

"Why? There's like… a huge kitchen downstairs," Jack said.

"Jack, focus," Merida snapped, then turned to Rapunzel. "Have you seen Hiccup?"

"No. I took your advice and went to the classroom but he never showed. When I came back here I tried to be brave like you, Merida, and tell Mother what I wanted, but then she asked me to make her eggs…and, well, here I am. Where's Hiccup?"

"We don't know," Jack said. "He didn't show for Transfiguration."

Rapunzel bit her lip, thinking. After a minute her eyes lit up, "I have just the thing."

Rapunzel took her eggs off the fire and dashed into her room. After a minute she popped out with a thick book.

"My parents sent me this book for Christmas last year. It has all these obscure spells in it, but I think one of them might be able to help us. Do either of you have anything of Hiccup's?"

Jack pulled out the parchment with Hiccup's note on it. Rapunzel took the paper from him and while reading from the book, waved her wand over it. The paper glowed a bit, then words appeared.

_OWLERY_

"Well, there you have it. That's where Hiccup is," Rapunzel said handing the paper back to Jack.

"Why would he be there?" Merida asked.

"I've been up there a few times. When Professor Pitchiner roped me into being the unofficial groundskeeper, she made one of my duties mucking it out. Besides, playing hide and seek in the rafters with the owls can be fun…but I doubt that's what Hiccup cut class for. We should go check it out. You comin' Rapunzel?"

"I don't think I should…Mother could be back any moment…she wants me to stay here," Rapunzel said softly.

"Suit yourself. We'll bring Hiccup back," Merida said. She led the way out of the infirmary, Jack close behind. Merida had never been to the owlery before, though she knew where it was. She did use the school's owls to send letters to her parents but she always just waited until they came in at breakfast and grabbed one.

So when she and Jack first stepped into the owlery she was not at all prepared for the sight that met her. The room was filled with thousands of owls in their nests. Merida gingerly stepped into the room, and was blasted by a cold wind. Shivering, Merida took another step into the room, only to jump back as the stench of the room reached her.

"Don't be such a baby," Jack said, stepping into the room.

"I wasn't being a baby! Can't you smell that?"

"It's only dead rats and rodents. And owl droppings. And the owls themselves. And-"

"Ugh! Enough!" Merida said. "Let's just find Hiccup and get out of here."

"What's the matter, princess, mingling with owls beneath you or something?"

"I just want to find Hiccup, that's all. Besides, it's not the owls, it's the chill. It's freezing up here." Merida took another step and slipped on the icy ground, causing Jack to break out into a fit of laughter.

"That's not funny, Jack!" Merida snapped. "I could have been hurt."

"But you weren't," Jack replied, still snickering. Suddenly he stopped and gestured for Merida to be quite.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Weren't we making a lot of noise?"

"Yeah?"

"If Hiccup is up here, why didn't he come out?" Jack said looking around. Merida stopped and took in the owlery. She couldn't see Hiccup anywhere among the towering cubbies of owl nests.

Merida turned back to Jack only to see him climbing up the cubbies to the rafters.

"We don't have time to play!" Merida called to him.

"I'm not playing! I can see better from above," Jack called back, never pausing in his climb. When he reached the top he spent a minute looking around, then pointed to the left. Merida ran in that direction, and again she slipped on something icy. Jack dropped down beside her.

"Don't you dare snicker at that!" Merida warned.

"I wasn't going to. Look."

Merida looked at the patch of ice she had slipped on…it was red. Jack leaned over and sniffed it.

"It's blood," he announced.

"From the vermin?" Merida asked hopefully. Jack shrugged and the two looked at the straw closest to the blood. It seemed to be piled quite a bit higher than the rest of the floor.

Together Jack and Merida dug through the straw. Merida screamed when she uncovered an icy cold hand. Quickly the two unearthed the rest of the body. It was Hiccup. He was deathly pale, covered in cuts and bruises, and his body was unmoving.

Merida gulped. Could Hiccup be dead?


	12. Hiccup's Tale

Jack and Merida stared at Hiccup's battered body. Jack lifted one of his hands, it was cold as ice. Merida was holding Hiccup's other hand. Jack saw tears starting to run down her face. Jack felt his own tears welling up.

As Jack looked at Hiccup he noticed tiny puffs of white coming out near his nose.

"He's breathing," Jack said.

"What?"

"It's weak, but I can see it. Thank god it's cold enough to see breath up here," Jack said. "You stay with Hiccup. I'll go get help. You try to stop any bleeding."

Merida nodded and Jack dashed out. He knew every inch of the school so finding the quickest way to the infirmary was no issue. Jack was seeking Rapunzel. Last year she used her hair to cure his broken ankle. Maybe she could save Hiccup.

He only hoped that he didn't run into Gothel. Unfortunately, luck was not with him today. Gothel was in the infirmary changing the bed sheets when Jack entered. Jack looked around but couldn't see Rapunzel.

"Jack, you're here early," Gothel said with a fake smile. "You aren't supposed to be here until after dinner."

"Not here to sleep. Where's Rapunzel?" Jack asked breathlessly, scanning the room for the blonde. Gothel's eyes narrowed.

"She's busy. What's wrong? I'm sure I could be more useful than Rapunzel." Jack took one last look for Rapunzel, but when he didn't see her he sighed. Hiccup's life was too much in danger to wait for her. He would have to tell Gothel.

"Merida and I found an injured student," Jack said.

"Where?"

"In the owlery. Merida's with him. It's serious." As Jack took Gothel up the nearest secret passage, he told Gothel about Hiccup.

"We thought he was dead at first…but he isn't."

"How can you be sure?"

"He's breathing. I think that's usually a good sign. But he was bleeding and pale," Jack said, taking the steps two at a time.

"Why did you ask for Rapunzel? Surely you didn't think a twelve-year-old would be qualified to help," Gothel said, following Jack at a much slower pace.

"I…I know about her hair," Jack confessed. "I saw her use it."

A frown tugged at Gothel's lips as though she wanted to say more, but she kept silent so Jack went on, "I thought maybe she could heal our friend."

"Oh, sweetie, no. You don't understand how this power works, dearie. When she uses it on others, it takes a toll on her. Minor injuries are all she can do. If I were to let her heal your friend, Rapunzel would be the one who would be weak and near death. It's a trade-off, you see, on who's suffering."

Jack said nothing to that. It made sense, on the surface, and yet last year Rapunzel had managed to heal his leg and keep the sand horses away without any repercussions. Was his leg a 'minor injury' and if it deteriorated Rapunzel's health, why has Jack seen Gothel using the hair to make herself young? Jack made a mental note to ask Rapunzel about that later. Right now saving Hiccup was all that mattered.

Jack and Gothel reached the owlery and rushed to Hiccup. Merida had torn off part of her dress and covered Hiccup with it. Gothel took one look at the boy then ordered Jack, "Go fetch a professor, try your head of house."

"Shouldn't I get head of Hufflepuff?"

"No!" Gothel said forcefully. "You won't be able to get in the common room. Pitch will tell the others, you can be sure of that."

"I'll send for my head of house, Professor Bunnymund," Merida said. Before anyone could say anything she grabbed an owl and sent a note off. Jack nodded and took off for Professor Black. _Hold on, Hiccup. You'll make it._

* * *

Rapunzel was practicing painting when she heard a huge commotion out in the main part of the infirmary. Peeking out the door, she saw a parade of professors coming in, Headmaster Ombric, Professor Toothiana, Professor Bunnymund, and Professor Black, as well as the nurse and Mother Gothel. Rapunzel was about to ignore it, when she heard a very distinctive Scottish accent.

"Will he be alright?" the girl's voice said. Rapunzel turned back to the crowd. At first she had only seen the professors, but now she could clearly identify Merida as the girl speaking, Jack next to her, and then she noticed a boy levitating above a bed. Hiccup.

Rapunzel threw open her door and ran out to see what was happening. Pushing her way to Hiccup's side Rapunzel took one look at the boy, almost sheet white, except for the purple bruises and the red cuts.

"What happened?" Rapunzel demanded without taking her eyes off of Hiccup.

"Rapunzel! Go back to your room," Gothel demanded. "This is a matter for the grown ups, pet. We should send all the children away."

"No!" Merida said. Rapunzel looked up, Jack stood right beside her.

"We found him, we deserve to know," Jack said.

"The kits are right," Professor Bunnymund said, "If they hadn't found 'im I'd be all for hushing it up until we know what happened, but if we send them away now it'll only lead to more rumors and fear."

"Will Hiccup be alright or not!" Merida demanded again. Headmaster Ombric looked the boy over.

"I would say his prognosis is good. You found him just in time. A minute later and he might have died," Ombric announced.

"He lost a lot of blood," Professor Toothiana said taking Hiccup's hand. "He might have died from it…or frozen to death."

"No, it was the cold that saved him," the nurse announced. "It slowed his bleeding, otherwise he might have bled out before you got to him. Now out. I need to treat this patient, and I can tell you the first step is giving him room to breath. Gothel go get bandages, lots of them."

The nurse and Gothel took over tending Hiccup's wounds. The professors and three students gathered on the other side of the infirmary.

"What happened?" Rapunzel demanded.

"That is something we'd all like to know," Ombric said. "We'll just have to wait for Hiccup to wake and tell us."

"Ombric," Professor Black said. "Has it occurred to you that the school might not be safe?"

"Since when has Hogwarts been safe!" Professor Bunnymund said. "I agree this is a dark period, but we can handle anythin'."

"I don't know," Toothiana said.

"Oh, Tooth, come on," Bunny said.

"No! Of course you think it's all fine. No one has disappeared or been seriously injured in Gryffindor!"

"Enough!" Ombric shouted. "This is a problem for the whole school, not each individual house. And this is most definitely not a discussion we should be having in front of students."

"Of course, Ombric," Toothiana said.

"Do you kids have any more questions?" Ombric asked gently. Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack looked at one another. The girls shook their heads.

Jack asked, "Um, Headmaster, sir, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Keep this to yourselves," Professor Black said. "After all, we wouldn't want to cause a panic."

"Professor Black is right," Ombric said. "Let us handle letting the rest of the school know. We have much to do. Including letting this boy's family know what happened. Why don't you all head down to the Great Hall. We'll be summoning all the students there soon anyway."

Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack reluctantly left Hiccup and headed down to the Great Hall. As they walked they discussed what happened.

"What do you think happened to him?" Rapunzel asked.

"I have no clue. What kind of danger could be in the owlery? I've been up there loads of times," Jack said. "I only ever see owls coming and going. I can't imagine what else might have been up there."

"A dragon maybe?" Merida suggested. "Hiccup was telling me about the different species just the other day."

"The windows are kinda small. I've never seen a dragon, but I doubt anything small enough to get in would be able to do that much damage…unless it was a pack of dragons. Do dragons hunt in packs?"

"I don't think this was a dragon attack," Rapunzel said. "He said they mostly steal food, right? Why would dragons be attacking the owlery. There's no food there."

"But what else could it be?" Merida asked. "Did the owls just go crazy and attack him?"

"I'm more interested to know why Hiccup was in the owlery in the first place," Jack said, "We had a free period after lunch, but something was so important he had to leave. I wonder if he was attacked before or after he accomplished what he left so suddenly to do?"

"What was he doing?" Merida asked.

"No idea," Jack shrugged. The three walked together in silence to the Great Hall. The Great Hall was packed; it seemed that every student was there. Rapunzel wondered how the professors had managed to get them assembled so quickly. The three students reluctantly split up, each going to their own house table. After a minute or two of waiting, Professor Manny Lunanoff came in.

"Welcome, students! I know this is a bit unusual, but the other professors and I have decided that to ensure the safety of the student body, you will all stay here tonight. But for now, it's almost time for dinner, so I say, enjoy the feast, and treat this as a special slumber party."

Professor Lunanoff waved his wand and food appeared on the tables. Rapunzel sat down next to two of her old roommates, Ella and Rebecca. While they saw each other every day in class, she hadn't been able to spend any time with them outside of class since she started living with Gothel. As upset as she was about Hiccup's health, it was nice to be able to catch up with her friends.

* * *

After everyone finished dinner, the tables magically disappeared only to be replaced by cots. The students lined up, almost all of them wound up near their other roommates, all but Jack. Jack wound up at the end of the Slytherin row, as far from his roommates as possible although they hadn't been too mean to him this year, with more difficult classes and concerns over the disappearing students.

As Jack settled into his cot, his thoughts turned to Hiccup. On one hand, he was horrified at what had happened to Hiccup, on the other hand, he was relieved he hadn't blacked out, so he could be sure he wasn't the attacker. With that thought, Jack settled into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Jack woke shivering. It was cold. Very cold. His eyes flipped open, he was outside. Again. Jack looked up. The sky was still dark, though most of the stars had already faded with the coming light.

Jack dashed back towards the castle, praying that no student had gone missing that night. When Jack reached the Great Hall, he saw to his relief that everyone else was still sleeping. Quickly he walked over to the Gryffindor section, and tapped Merida gently on the shoulder.

"…I'm not ready, Mum," Merida said groggily pulling her pillow over her head.

"I need help," Jack whispered, prodding her again. Merida slowly sat up.

"What's goin' on?"

"It happened again. Merida, I need you to help me check if any of the students are missing."

"Why can't Rapunzel do it?" Merida asked, stretching out.

"She has enough to worry about with Gothel. And Hiccup. Besides, you're the bravest, if there's anyone I can count on not to freak out if someone _is_ missing, it's you."

Merida nodded and together the two set out to explore the cots for missing students. First, Jack and Merida checked their own houses. When they met back they agreed everyone was accounted for. Next they checked the Ravenclaw section, both giving a sigh of relief when they saw Rapunzel safe on her cot, peacefully sleeping.

Lastly, the two checked the Hufflepuff row. Merida and Jack knew the least about the Hufflepuffs because Hiccup hardly ever spent any time talking about them. Jack and Merida slowly went down the aisle, trying to remember who everyone was. As they reached the center of the row, Merida suddenly gasped.

"Jack, look!" She pointed to a cot…an empty cot. But that wasn't the worst of it. The cot was covered by ice, and not just any ice, it looked almost like a direct copy of the painting of fernfrost Jack had made last year.

"What should we do?" Merida asked. Jack stared at the cot.

"Who is it?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Merida said. Jack looked at the two cots next to the empty one. Jack recognized the occupants as William and Robert, two of Hiccup's roommates. The one he didn't see was Crispin.

"We need to tell someone," Jack whispered.

"No. You'll get in trouble. We should clean up the ice and just go back to bed."

"I can't, Merida. Don't you see, everyone but me is accounted for! I'm the only one who could be doing it."

"Unless it's not a student. Believe me, Jack, I spent all of last year thinking you were evil. If there was a chance you truly were behind these attacks, don't you think I would have noticed it?"

Jack heaved a sigh, "I don't know if there are signs. It's not as though I'm doing this on purpose."

"I still don't believe you're capable of these attacks."

"Maybe not. But I need to tell someone. I need to stop the attacks. And if removing myself from the school is the only way, so be it."

"No!" Jack and Merida turned around at the sound of the voice. There stood Camicazi, hands on hips staring at Jack.

"Camicazi-"

"No! You can't leave! I thought we were friends."

"We are…but some things are bigger than friendship, and disappearing students is one of them."

"But it's not you! I know it's not."

"How can you know? Even I don't know."

"I believe in you, Jack Frost. I know it's something else, and I'm going to find it and prove it."

"The little Slytherin is right," Merida agreed. "I believe in you, too, and so do Hiccup and Rapunzel."

"Hiccup is injured, and one of his roommates has disappeared, all because of me. I have to set this right. Maybe I won't have to leave…but I need to tell a professor before anyone else goes missing." Jack turned to leave. Merida started to follow him. He looked back at her and said, "You shouldn't come."

"And miss the chance to see you getting in trouble? I won't hear of it. Besides, what if you aren't the attacker. I'll not let you go out there with a monster on the loose on your own."

"Thanks," Jack smiled gratefully at Merida before turning to Camicazi, "Keep watch here, will you? If any professors show up, let them know Merida and I went out to tell them something."

Camicazi nodded and Merida and Jack stepped out into the corridor. Merida turned to Jack.

"So…where to? The headmaster's office?"

"No. I don't know where that is…let's go to the Infirmary. I want to check on Hiccup and I'm sure the nurse can get Headmaster Ombric for us. I wasn't out long this time, was I? I didn't miss a whole day like last time?"

"No. I definitely saw you yesterday."

"Good. At least it's getting better."

Jack and Merida reached the infirmary soon after and slowly walked in. Jack dreaded what he knew was about to come, but proceeded anyway.

When they entered the infirmary there was no sign of the nurse or Gothel. Jack turned to Hiccup's bed. Hiccup was there, covered head to toe in bandages, some soaked through with blood. Jack and Merida raced to his side.

Hiccup's skin was still sheet white, but when Jack touched him he was relieved to find that the boy wasn't as cold. Jack was about to turn away to go find the nurse when he felt movement. Hiccup was twisting.

"…Jack?" Hiccup said weakly. Jack and Merida looked at Hiccup, his eyes were a little glazed over but they were open.

"I'm here," Jack answered. He and Merida pulled some chairs over to sit by Hiccup.

"…wh…what happened?" Hiccup asked.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Merida answered. "We found you in the owlery."

"The owlery…did she make it?" Hiccup asked.

"Who?" Jack said.

"The owl. I sent an owl out…then…I think…there was…a bear."

"A BEAR?" Jack and Merida exclaimed at the same time.

"That's impossible. There couldn't be a bear in the owlery," Merida said. "At least not one big enough to do this kind of damage."

"I know it sounds crazy…I'm not sure I remember it right…maybe it was a dream, but I could have sworn I saw a big black bear. It was huge, like twice my size, and there were all these weapons stuck in its back…and it had one dead eye."

"Mor'du…," Merida whispered,"the demon bear."

"Don't be ridiculous, you just made that up," Jack said.

"No. I saw it when I was a wee girl. I'm telling the truth, I swear. It looks just how you described. But how did Mor'du get into Hogwarts?"

"There was one more thing...I couldn't see it…but I remember just before I blacked out…I felt…sand," Hiccup said.

"Sand? You don't think it was related to those horses?" Jack asked.

"It was definitely a bear, not a horse."

"But how would a bear get up to the owlery? Or a horse, for that matter? You're sure it wasn't like one of those threshold things?" Jack asked.

"Thestrals. And no. I've seen them before. It was not a thestral. It was not a horse. It was a bear." Hiccup's voice started to sound more clear, as though he were gaining strength.

"It couldn't have been a dragon?" Merida asked.

"No. I know dragons. This was not one. And even if it was some weird new species of dragon, it had no wings. No animal, dragon or not, could get up to the owlery without wings or going through the castle. And I don't think it came through the castle."

"So what did happen?" Jack asked. "You left me that note about meeting in Transfiguration…and then what?"

"I went to the library to do some research. And I found what I was looking for. I sent the results off to an expert."

"What did you find?" Merida asked.

"I can't tell you…not here. I don't think I was randomly attacked. I think someone thinks I know too much. I think a wizard or witch sent that animal up to the owlery to stop me from sending that letter. I only hope the owl made it."

"And if it didn't?" Merida asked.

"Then I'll think of something else," Hiccup said. A clock chimed in the castle, six AM.

"I should probably get going," Jack said. "I need to find the headmaster."

"Why?" Hiccup asked. Jack and Merida shared the story of the latest attack.

"…and when I tell the Headmaster what I've done, I'll tell him about the bear and the sand horses too."

"You sure? I thought we agreed to keep that secret to protect Rapunzel?" Merida said.

"I know…but missing students are a bigger deal than Rapunzel's secret. Besides, I can tell him about the time we crashed in the forest. Merida and I outran the horse. Rapunzel wasn't there, so her secret won't be compromised."

Jack left Merida and Hiccup and set out in search of the nurse. He didn't have to go very far before he ran straight into Gothel. She gave him a large plastered smile.

"Um, can you tell me where I can find the nurse?" Jack asked.

"No I can't dear, I'm afraid she was up all night tending your friend. She needs her rest. I assure you I can do anything for you that she can," Gothel said advancing on Jack. The boy took a step back.

"Can you get Headmaster Ombric for me?"

"No, child. Ombric left last night. He has to inform the boy's parents of his injuries. But whatever you have to say to Ombric, you can say to me. I know I can help you."

"I guess…Okay." Jack told Gothel everything about his blackouts, about his ice powers and the sand creatures the children had seen. When he finished his tale he said, "And that's why I need to leave… I need to tell Headmaster Ombric."

"No, you don't," Gothel said. "I find it hard to believe a child could be the cause of all this. Particularly a second year."

"But-"

"Give it time. If you're still having these blackouts, and people keep disappearing, then you can speak to Ombric."

"But what if it happens again? I don't want anyone else to go missing."

"Talk to your head of house about this. Perhaps Pitch has a special potion that can keep you from blacking out."

Jack nodded and Gothel left him. Jack turned and went back to Merida and Hiccup. They were both looking at him.

"Did you guys hear any of that?" Jack asked. They both nodded.

"Every word," Merida added.

"So, I guess I have to go see Professor Black."

"No," Hiccup said, attempting to sit up. "I don't trust him."

"You…you don't?" Merida said in bewilderment. "But you trust everyone. I spent half of last year trying to get you to stop trusting Jack."

"You did?" Jack said, looking at Merida. Their rivalry last year had been strong but he hadn't known she was trying to sabotage his friendship.

"Oh, get over it. We're friends now and it turns out Hiccup was right, you can be trusted. But I still get the impression Hiccup trusts everyone."

"I do…normally," Hiccup said,"but not when they lie to me. Pitch Black lied last year…and I think he's lying this year. And I'm pretty sure Gothel is lying too."

"You're wrong!" a girl's voice exclaimed. Jack, Merida and Hiccup looked up. Rapunzel was standing just a few feet away, and she looked furious.


	13. Visitors

"You're wrong about my mother," Rapunzel said again.

"Punzie..." Jack said quietly.

"No! Mother Gothel may not be my real mother but she raised me. Everything she's done she's done for me. You have no reason not to trust her."

"Rapunzel…you weren't there. You didn't hear what she said," Hiccup said gently.

"I don't have to. I would trust your mother. Why can't you trust mine?" Rapunzel said, starting to cry. Through her tears she squeezed out, "I'm glad you're okay, Hiccup." Then Rapunzel turned and ran.

"Should I go after her?" Merida asked.

"No," Hiccup said. "She's right. Gothel is like a mother to her. I still don't trust Gothel, but we shouldn't press the issue. I don't want to lose Rapunzel as a friend."

"So what do we do now?" Jack asked.

"We need proof. For now…maybe it's best if you did what Gothel suggested. I don't like the idea of you taking something Professor Black gives you…but I doubt it can be too harmful, so long as Merida, Rapunzel and I know you're taking it. If anything bad happens we'll tell the headmaster about it. In the meantime, we should go back to learning Runes. We need a secret language. Any readings on who else knows Runes?"

"I'm on it," Jack said. "Camicazi is on our side."

"Camicazi? Why does that name seem familiar?" Hiccup asked.

"You could be remembering from the sorting," Merida suggested.

"She said she's from the Burglar Islands or something," Jack added.

"Oh, of course. That's where I know Camicazi from," Hiccup said. "She's one of the Bog-Burglars, right?"

"Yeah, you know her?"

"No. Not really. The Bog-Burglars are feuding with the Hooligans," Hiccup said, "which means, thankfully, that we never have to deal with them. Islands we're feuding with tend to steer clear because of the dragon attacks. Dad's gone on a few treaty talks with them; Camicazi is chief Bertha's daughter. But she never came to Berk and I never left, 'cept for Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, of course. Are you sure she's going to help?"

"Oh, she is," Merida said. "I've never seen a Slytherin I liked so much."

"Hey! You only saw her for a minute," Jack said.

"True. But she's the toughest girl here. I can't help but like her…and you say she's the chief's daughter. That's like a princess in the Archipelago, right? Then that makes her a warrior princess, just like me."

"A third princess here?" Jack said. "How many princesses does Hogwarts have? It's like there are more princesses than regular people. Seriously, are all the girls I know princesses? Next thing I know, you're going to tell me all the boys I know are princes, too."

"Hiccup's a prince," Merida said.

"No. Merida's joking," Hiccup said.

"So are you or are you not royalty?" Jack asked.

"It depends on your definition. Camicazi and I are both the heirs to our tribes…but it's not a kingdom so we aren't exactly royalty."

"Great," Jack said, shaking his head, "First I find out I'm a wizard. Now I find that all my friends are future rulers."

"Just forget it," Hiccup said. "It's seriously not a big deal, and we have bigger things to worry about, like the fact that the student body is rapidly disappearing."

"You're right," Jack said, "I'll go check in with Camicazi."

"Hey, Jack?" Hiccup said, "Don't tell anyone Camicazi is working with us, not even Rapunzel. I think we may need an outside source."

"You don't trust Rapunzel?" Merida asked.

"Of course I do. But she might tell Gothel, and I just don't think we can take that risk."

"You know, it's not like it's a secret Camicazi and me are friends," Jack said, "Everyone in the Slytherin dorm has seen us plotting together."

"That's perfect. We can let everyone assume you're just being the merry prankster with her, no one will suspect what you're really doing. We keep everything secret."

Jack and Merida agreed before they left to go see how the rest of the student body was handling the newest missing student, and find out how the professors informed the other students about Hiccup.

As soon as his friends had left Hiccup slouched down in the bed. He didn't hurt too badly. He supposed the nurse or Gothel had given him something to dull the pain. Still the excitement over everything that happened made him drowsy, so Hiccup snuggled into the bed and fell asleep.

Sometime during his rest he awoke to an odd noise…something like crying. Hiccup opened bleary eyes hoping to see whoever it was, but the infirmary was dark and empty. The crying sound was fainter now…not as though it were moving away, but rather as though the crier was giving up. Hiccup tried to guess where the sound was coming from but the sound was too faint, and soon it disappeared all together.

Slowly Hiccup closed his eyes and was asleep once more.

* * *

Merida sat by the window of the Gryffindor common room playing wizard chess with Todd. She would much rather be outside having a snowball fight with Jack Frost or practicing spells with Rapunzel, at this point she'd even take reading to Hiccup. But none of that was allowed now.

With two attacks in less than twenty-four hours, the Hogwarts staff had decided the children needed to be watched more closely. Everyone was to remain in their dorm rooms after the evening meal. In Merida's opinion this was rather stupid seeing how most of the attacks had happened in the dorm rooms, but nevertheless those were the new orders.

An air of fear hung in the air. It was clear the professors had no idea how to protect the students against whatever was causing the disappearances. There was talk of closing Hogwarts and sending the students back home. Merida hoped with all her might that didn't happen. She could barely take the letters she was getting from her Mum dictating all the extra things she was supposed to be learning, let alone having to put up with the princess lessons for the rest of the year. Summer was bad enough.

But if the school continued to be like this, she might not have a choice. And where would her friends end up? Jack was muggle-born like her. If Hogwarts closed, they'd both be back to muggle work. Hiccup might be alright. Maybe he'd transfer to Durmstrang to be with the rest of Berk. But Rapunzel…Rapunzel would have to go back to her tower, to live with Gothel forever. Silently Merida resolved never to let that happen.

Merida looked at the clock. She'd been trapped in this chess game for three hours, and it was their fourth round. Todd ordered one off his knights to take one of her pawns.

"Check," Todd said. Merida stared at the board in frustration. She was sick of this game. Too much strategy. Moving her king one space, she knew it was a suicide move, but frankly much as she liked to win she didn't feel like playing anymore. Todd moved his knight again and won the game.

"So…do you want to be white or black this round?"

"Ugh. No more chess! Why can't we be doing something fun?"

"You know the rules. No going out without an escort. But don't worry; I'll get some more games from home over Christmas break. It's not too long now. Then we can play something besides chess."

"I don't want to play any more stupid games, Todd! I need to be out there with my friends."

"What, we aren't friends?" he asked, setting up the chessboard.

"You know what I meant. Don't you have friends in other houses?"

"No, I really don't. I know some of the students in other house, but we're not friends."

"Well, I do, and right now those friends need me. I can't just sit here playing games. I'm going to go ask Professor Bunnymund about maybe visiting the infirmary."

Todd nodded and Merida got up and walked to Professor Bunnymund's office. The door was slightly ajar and inside stood Professors Bunnymund, Toothiana, and Lunanoff and Headmaster Ombric.

"Should we contact the others?" Ombric was asking. Merida cleared her throat. The professors all froze in their tracks. Bunnymund stepped forward.

"Not the best time, little one. Is it an emergency?" Bunnymund asked. Merida fidgeted.

"No, it's just…how is Hiccup?" Merida asked. Professor Toothiana stepped forward.

"He's doing well," she said. "He's slept most of the day."

"Do…do you suppose I could visit him?" Merida finally asked. Toothiana and Bunnymund looked not to Ombric, as she would have expected, but to Professor Lunanoff. He gave a slight nod towards Toothiana.

Toothiana took Merida's hand and led the girl out of Gryffindor tower. As they walked down the empty corridor Merida questioned the professor.

"So…do you think the school will be on lockdown for very long?" Merida asked.

"I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened in Hogwart's history."

"You know, there are rumors that it could be the Chamber of Secrets," Merida prompted.

"No. That's utter nonsense. The Chamber of Secrets was made to purge the school of muggle-borns; Jason, the Slytherin boy, would not have been attacked, he was a pure blood."

"So the rumors are true, there really is a Chamber of Secrets?"

"…yes, but please don't tell anyone. It could cause a panic."

"Students are disappearing; I think the point of panic is past."

"Maybe you're right, but we know the monster of Slytherin is not the one causing this. I don't want to give anyone more reasons to fear."

"Okay, I won't tell anyone, I promise. But how can you be sure that the monster isn't the one causing it?"

"Because the Chamber can only be opened by the heir of Slytherin. We've been keeping tabs on all of Salazar Slytherin's descendants. We're hoping the line dies out before the chamber is opened. Currently the only living descendant is an orphan girl, about six. We're hoping that the knowledge of how to open the chamber died with her parents."

"So, you have no idea how to get into the Chamber?"

"Well, we have no idea how regular students can get in, but some of the more advanced wizards are able to perceive the chamber in certain ways. We can't actually get in and see what's in there, but we know that there are no students, living or dead, in the Chamber."

"How can you be sure?" Merida asked.

"There are some magical creatures that can pass through solid walls. We sent them in to search it, but they couldn't find anything."

"And you're sure they would notice kids?"

"The creatures I sent in are attracted to teeth. They would have been able to find any humans so long as they had one tooth left, no matter the state of the rest of the body."

"What kind of creature is attracted to teeth?"

"Don't ask. If you're really curious about it, I might suggest signing up for Care of Magical Creatures next year, if we have a next year." Toothiana stopped talking as the pair reached the infirmary. She let Merida go in alone, telling her to have the nurse or Gothel escort her back to Gryffindor Tower.

Hiccup was sitting up in his bed, looking much better than he had the last time Merida saw him. Coming closer she could see he was reading a history textbook, but he set it down when she approached.

"So, Hiccup, how's it going?" Merida asked, because quite frankly she wasn't sure what to ask in a situation like this. Would it be rude to ask about his injuries, or polite? Should she ignore the fact that he was hurt? Or treat him like an invalid? No one had ever been seriously injured at Castle DunBroch, at least nobody she had any business seeing.

Hiccup coughed a little but answered, "I'm fine. Rapunzel brought me some books."

Hiccup patted the table next to his bed, which Merida now saw was not a table at all but rather a stack of books. Merida pulled a chair up next to Hiccup.

"So…any progress?" Hiccup whispered.

"None. You?"

"Nope," Hiccup shook his head.

"Did you see Rapunzel?" Merida asked.

"No. I fell asleep and when I woke up the books were here with a note."

"You're sure it's from Rapunzel?"

"It's her handwriting, at least," Hiccup said. Merida told him about all of the new regulations and about how they were thinking about closing the school.

"They can't do that!" Hiccup said, "If Vikings don't leave Berk after three hundred years of Dragon attacks, I'm sure not leaving Hogwarts. Guess I have the same stubbornness issues as the rest of my tribe."

"I don't think you'll have much of a choice. The professors seemed serious about closing the school."

"Okay, we need to step up this investigation. I have a plan, but it's secret."

"So what is it?"

"The walls have ears, I'd rather not say it, not 'til I'm sure we're alone. Check in with Jack about his mission, then come back to me."

"I don't know if I can manage. I get the feeling letting me come down here was a one time deal. The school is in lockdown."

"Oh darn, that's right. Well, listen, Rapunzel is living here now, so I see her every night. Check in with her during your classes together, she can be the communicator between us."

"I thought you didn't trust her."

"No, I trust Rapunzel. It's Gothel I don't trust. Rapunzel might tell Gothel, so we have to be prepared for that, but I really want to give Rapunzel the benefit of the doubt. Just don't tell her about Jack's friend. That's the one ace we have. Hopefully."

Before Hiccup and Merida could continue their plans, the door to the infirmary burst open and a booming voice called out in a thick Scottish accent.

"Where is he!" Hiccup cringed at the sound. The man was very large with wild red hair and a long beard. Merida thought he looked to be about the same size as her own father. The man saw Merida and came closer, but when he saw Hiccup he froze.

"Hi…Dad," Hiccup said, "Merida, you remember my dad, Stoick the Vast? Dad…Merida. Merida, Dad."

"Have we met? I don't recall," Merida said coldly.

"Sure, the day we first met," Hiccup prompted, "in Diagon Alley. You laughed at my name, remember?"

"Can't say that I do."

"Well, anyway, what are you doing here, Dad?"

"Hiccup, you're alright." Stoick crammed into the tiny space on the other side of Hiccup's bed, barely fitting. It was clear Hogwarts was not made for Vikings.

"More or less," Hiccup replied dryly. "Why are you here?"

"I received a letter from the school saying you were injured. I came right away."

"Wait, a letter? by owl?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes. They gotta find a better way to send those letters. The owl came during a dragon attack, the paper almost burned up. Luckily Gobber saw the owl just before it got caught by a Nadder."

"Dad…do you still have the letter?" Stoick nodded. Hiccup continued, "Can I see it?"

Stoick pulled a piece of parchment out from his belt and handed it to Hiccup. Hiccup read through the letter quickly then looked up at his father.

"Is it alright if I keep this?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course, son," Stoick said. "So, how are you feeling. Didn't lose any limbs, did you?"

"I'm fine. I think I'm all in one piece."

"What dragon did this to you?"

"It wasn't a dragon. It was bear. Merida thinks it was Mor'du."

"Murder?" Stoick asked.

"Not murder, Mor'du," Merida interjected, "the demon bear of the Scottish highlands."

"Where can I find this bear?" Stoick asked Merida, "I'll...I'll..."

"You'll have to wait your turn. Mor'du took my dad's leg; he has first dibs on killing the beast."

"No!" Hiccup said forcefully, "Nobody is killing that bear. We have enough vendettas against dragons; we don't need to add bears."

"But it hurt you," Stoick said.

"I'm fine, Dad, really. You can go back to Berk now. In a few days I'll be good as new."

"Right then, in a few days we'll go back to Berk."

"What?" Hiccup said in shock, "You…you want me to leave Hogwarts?"

"Of course, you'll come back to Berk where it's safe."

"But…it's no safer on Berk than it is in Hogwarts," Hiccup said. "I mean, this is the first time I've ever been attacked here, on Berk it happens all the time."

"I can protect you on Berk," Stoick argued.

"But, Dad!" Hiccup pleaded with his father. When Stoick didn't waver, Hiccup turned to Merida, "Help me?"

"Um, Stoick, sir?" Merida started. "You know, the school's not truly that dangerous, and because of all the disappearances, the school's even more secure than ever."

"Disappearances?" Stoick said.

"Um…you didn't know about the disappearances, I take it?" Merida said.

"No. That's it, Hiccup, we're going back to Berk right now."

"Thanks, Merida," Hiccup said sarcastically, "Dad I can't go back to Berk, not when I'm so close. Please!"

Stoick ignored his son and stormed out of the infirmary. A second after he left Gothel popped by.

"I heard everything. Don't worry, I'll get your father to reconsider," Gothel said before dashing off. As soon as Hiccup and Merida were alone Hiccup heaved a sigh.

"I can't go back to Berk! I'm still not quite caught up with spell casting. I have to get better before I go back."

"Can't you learn there?" Merida asked.

"I never got accepted to Durmstrang. If I leave Hogwarts, I have no hope of ever becoming a proper wizard. I'll go back to being the village squib."

"Can't the wizards in your town teach you?"

"Vikings don't make the best teachers. If I can't be at Hogwarts, I'm on my own."

Merida and Hiccup tried brainstorming other ways of learning magic, but Hiccup shot them all down. Just as Hiccup gave up hope on ever becoming a full fledged wizard, Stoick came back in.

"Hiccup," he said, "you get your wish. You're staying at Hogwarts."

"Uh, really? That's great, Dad, what made you change your mind?"

"That woman in the red dress…Gothel. She convinced me."

"So you're going to go back to Berk?"

"Not yet, Son. I'm not leaving you here alone until I'm sure you're alright. And I want to see for myself what these disappearance things are all about. I need to go talk to the headmaster about staying."

"Um, I should probably head back to Gryffindor tower, Hiccup," Merida said, "Jack and I will give our notes to Rapunzel so you can copy them. See you later."

Merida pushed back her chair and ran back to Gryffindor tower. It was only after she was halfway there that she remembered she was supposed to have an escort. _Oh well_ , _I'm probably not in any danger_.

Nevertheless, Merida did proceed slightly more cautiously. She reached the Gryffindor tower safely and was able to enter without anyone seeing her.

* * *

Gothel turned down a dark corridor.

"That was a nice save," a dark voice said. Gothel jumped as a shadow moved and Pitch Black stepped out.

"Must you?"

"Yes. Now about your failure."

"My failure? You're the one who didn't check to see if the boy was dead after that stupid fake Mor'du thing mauled him."

"He would have been dead if those two hadn't found him. You had a chance to kill him. You should have told them his injuries were terminal and let him die up in the tower."

"I was going to. But then that girl sent the letter off to her Head of House. Excuse me, but I didn't think you'd want me tipping the Easter Bunny off to our plan."

"It's all very well. We may be able to turn this mistake into something useful. Good call convincing the boy's father to let him stay. The children are one step closer to trusting you, and the school is giving me plenty of fear to work from. My herd is stronger than it has ever been before."

"About the fear…I think your plan is working too well. Jack was planning to tell Ombric about everything."

"I know. He came to me after you stopped him. I've isolated him from the rest of the school; he has to stay in my office except for classes. The best part is, the boy feels so guilty about the disappearances he's not fighting it at all. I do suppose we should stop for a while; let the school relax a bit so they don't close it."

"I thought we were trying to close it, so Rapunzel would have to come home?"

"Eventually, yes. But the school is such a good source of fear. Anyway, your flower needs to believe that you're the only one who can protect her; else she might decide to leave you. And we all know what would happen to you then."

Pitch whispered the last sentence in Gothel's ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Of course he knew her greatest fear. But she would never let that fear come true.


	14. A Messenger

Rapunzel sat on the edge of her bed fidgeting with her hair. She was still fairly cross with Hiccup; after all, Gothel raised her. But she couldn't ignore the fact that he was hurt…and she could fix it.

Rapunzel looked at the clock. It was late, close to midnight. Hiccup was probably asleep. She could go, sing to him, and then slip back into her room without anyone seeing. Hopefully everyone would take his miraculous recovery as just that, a miracle.

Lighting a candle, Rapunzel stepped out into the main part of the infirmary. A large man was in the bed next to Hiccup. Rapunzel cautiously approached. She hadn't heard anything about another invalid. Mother Gothel hadn't told her anything about his man. Rapunzel turned, she couldn't sing in a stranger's presence.

As she started to go, she heard a moan from Hiccup's bed. She turned back to him. Forget the stranger; Hiccup needed her help. Rapunzel pulled the curtain around Hiccup's bed closed and gently lay her hair over his stomach.

She inhaled but before the first word had left her mouth Hiccup's eyes shot open. Rapunzel started to sing softly, only for Hiccup to reach forward and put a finger on her lips.

"Don't…" he said weakly.

"You don't want me to heal you?" Rapunzel whispered.

"Nah. Scars are considered a mark of bravery on Berk. My dad never lets me out during fighting, so this might be my only chance to scar. In fact, never waste your magic healing me.

"Not even if it's life threatening?"

"Hey, I'm a Viking. It's better to die with honor in battle, that's the only way into Valhalla after all."

Rapunzel gave a small smile, "You sure you can handle the pain?"

"Sure. Pain, love it," Hiccup said with a grimace. "Seriously, though. I want to keep my injuries. If you heal me, it'd just solidify my loser status on Berk."

"You're not a loser."

"Thanks. You're the only one who thinks that, but thanks."

"Jack and Merida agree with me, and someday, everyone else will too. Trust me."

Hiccup and Rapunzel were both quiet for a moment, enjoying the peace. Rapunzel broke the silence,

"I should probably get back to bed, I have class tomorrow…do you need anything before I go?"

"No thanks, just get some rest, I'm hoping Jack will have some important news tomorrow."

Rapunzel nodded and left the injured boy. Hiccup hadn't said anything bad about Mother this time…maybe he had come to his senses; maybe he trusted Rapunzel's judgment after all. With those thoughts she crawled into bed and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jack Frost tossed and turned all night. Every time he closed his eyes he saw visions of the missing students, their faces contorted in pain, mixed with images of Hiccup's injuries. It was getting harder for Jack to separate his nightmares from his memories.

Eventually Jack gave up on the idea of sleep and opened his eyes. For a moment he wasn't sure where he was, this was not his dorm room. At first he panicked, was this the morning after another blackout? But a quick glance around reminded him he was safe in Professor Black's office.

Jack stretched out his limbs, stiff from having to sleep on the hard stone floor. Professor Black had promised to move a cot in, but it wouldn't be there until the next night.

Jack pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders. The fireplace had lost its flame long ago, and the room was so cold Jack could see his breath.

Looking at the door to make sure no one was coming, Jack held out his hands. Concentrating with all his might, he willed the ground next to him to freeze. Nothing happened.

Jack gathered his strength and tried again. Again nothing happened. Maybe it had to do with his emotions? Jack concentrated on the fear he felt. Still nothing. Maybe he was doing it wrong. Jack closed his eyes and visualized what the floor would look like covered in Fernfrost. He felt a cold sensation pass through his body; looking at the ground he saw frost sprawling out from where his hands were touching.

Quickly Jack removed his hands but the frost stayed. The frost was beautiful, just as he'd imagined it…just as it appeared on Crispin's cot. Suddenly Jack realized how bad it would look if someone walked in on him making the one thing that all the victims had in common. As fast as he could, Jack clawed and scraped at the frost, willing it away.

No sooner had he disposed of the ice chunks into the fireplace than the door to the office opened and Professor Black stepped in. Jack held his hands, turned blue from the constant contact with ice, behind his back and gave the professor an innocent look. Professor Black narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I see you managed to stay put all night…hopefully." Professor Black closed the door behind him. Jack stood up as the professor came closer. Black stopped inches from Jack, "Do you have anything to tell me?"

"No…no sir," Jack said.

"Good. What's your schedule for the day? Second years have Herbology first, don't they?"

"Yes, then a free period, followed by History of Magic and then Transfiguration after lunch."

"Report back here during your free period then. You are dismissed for breakfast," Black waved Jack off. Jack got out of the office as quickly as he could; the other students were already at breakfast.

Jack ran as fast as he could down the halls, students weren't supposed to be out without an escort anymore. Not that Jack was afraid of being attacked by some monster. Heck, he wanted to be attacked; if he were attacked it would prove he wasn't the attacker and put his fears to rest.

As it was, Jack was far more afraid of being caught out without an escort. It was bad enough he might be the attacker, nothing would be worse than getting caught the one time he had the utmost confidence he hadn't done anything.

As it happened, Jack made it to the Great Hall without incident. In fact no one even seemed to have noticed him come in, being virtually invisible did have its uses. Jack took his usual seat next to Camicazi. The girl was busy chatting with some of the other Slytherin first years. Jack had to wait ten minutes before she broke her conversation with them to face Jack.

"Hey, so you decided to stay?" she asked.

"More or less. I still might have to leave…but I'm trying not to. Any progress on your end?"

Camicazi swallowed a bite of food and nodded, "I don't know the real culprit yet…but I got those numbers you wanted. Looks like me and your friend are the only people in the school who can read."

"Great! How'd you figure it out?"

"I can't tell you my secrets," Camicazi said, stuffing her mouth again, "Anyway, how doesn't matter. But I guarantee that only me and the kid from Berk can read them. Not even the Ancient Runes Professor Cowel could."

"Great. Thanks Camicazi, you're the best," Jack said. Quickly he pulled out his parchment and scribbled the news on a paper. He wouldn't take any chances on someone overhearing him telling Rapunzel.

After they finished breakfast, Jack joined the Slytherins as they marched down to the greenhouse. The ground sparkled with snow. Jack's spirits lifted as the chill touched his skin.

Out here there were no monsters, no strange attacks from demon bears or disappearing students. Nothing but the peaceful crisp winter air, well not quite winter, not for two weeks. Jack raced ahead of his classmates, flopping down in the snow outside the greenhouse. After making a snow angel Jack rolled over and gathered several fistfuls of snow.

As the rest of the Herbology class drew near, Jack launched his attack. His first snowball landed squarely on Derek's chest. At first Derek stood in shock, but when he spotted Jack he bent down, rolled some snow, reeled back his arm, but before he could hit Jack with it, he was struck by another snowball. Jack looked up to see Rapunzel racing over, her Mother Gothel walking several feet behind.

Derek turned on Rapunzel, but before he could get her, Jack had launched a second snowball, though this one missed its target and hit one of the Ravenclaw boys. Soon the air was filled with flying snow. It seemed that every student had joined in the fun.

The snowball fight came to an end when Professor Pitchiner came out and gave them a stern look. All the students dropped the snow they were holding and marched into the greenhouse.

Jack was the last to come indoors. He half expected to be scolded by the professor for delaying class but what she said surprised him.

"Thank you Jack, we could all use a little fun to take the edge off the fear."

"You're not mad?"

"I can't say I like your choice in timing, but no. I am not angry. Just so long as you don't make a habit of it. After all, the snow is not so good for the plants." The professor gave Jack one of her rare smiles before she left to begin class.

Jack took his place next to Rapunzel. After the initial lecture the students were free to talk. Rapunzel turned to Jack, her green eyes sparkling, "That was the most fun I've ever had. What do you call it?"

"What a snowball fight?"

"Snowball fight. I'll have to remember that. Next time it snows near my tower, maybe I can get mother to play with me," Rapunzel said excitedly. Jack's face fell a bit as he answered.

"Um, about that, Rapunzel. I'm not sure your mother is-"

"No. I've heard enough already. There is nothing wrong with my mother. I don't know what Hiccup's been telling you but I'm sure it's all wrong."

"But- it's not Hiccup- Rapunzel I saw you…singing to your mother."

"What?" Rapunzel stopped her work with the plants to stare at Jack.

"I saw you singing…while she brushed your hair," Jack confessed, sheepish at having to admit to spying.

"So what? And this is not the place to discuss this," Rapunzel said coldly.

"It's not just that. When I found Hiccup…I told her I knew about your hair."

"What?" Rapunzel said. "How could you?"

"I never said where. I swear. I was just so worried about Hiccup," Jack said but Rapunzel refused to acknowledge him, and in fact continued to ignore Jack for the rest of the lesson.

The rest of Herbology was miserable for Jack. It was one thing to be hated and ignored by people he didn't like, but to be ignored by a friend was even worse. Jack felt hurt…just like when Flynn stopped talking to him last year, only this time Jack deserved the treatment.

Rapunzel left with the rest of the class. Jack chased after her, stopping the girl before she reached the castle.

"Rapunzel wait! I'm sorry! I really am. I didn't mean to tell…but please I need your help. You're the only one who can visit Hiccup. I need you to give him something for me."

Rapunzel yanked her hand away from Jack and continued up to the castle. Jack followed her.

"Please don't take this out on Hiccup. Be mad at me all you want…Don't talk to me, I'm used to it, just don't make Hiccup suffer because of this mistake I made. I'm sorry."

Rapunzel stopped and turned to face Jack, "Fine, Jack. What is it you need me to give Hiccup?"

Jack pulled out the parchment with Camicazi's news and handed it to Rapunzel. The blonde took it and with a curt nod left. Jack watched as she entered the castle, Gothel was just inside the doors, preparing to escort the girl up to the infirmary, which reminded Jack he needed to catch up with the Slytherins.

Jack found them about halfway down to the dungeons. A few students broke off in a group to go visit the library, but the vast majority continued down to the common room. Jack walked right past everyone else and went into Professor Black's office.

Black wasn't there, it was only the second years that had this hour free; he was busy teaching one of the older classes. Jack didn't know which one. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Jack was alone, and hopefully the castle would be safe.

* * *

Hiccup was trying very hard to read. Normally that was a very easy task. You could hardly get Hiccup away from books, but with Stoick the Vast standing over him, reading was proving to be very difficult.

Stoick was trying to relate to him; that much was clear. The problem was, Stoick wasn't as skilled in languages as Hiccup was, so he could only read Runes and basic English, not the more advanced books Rapunzel had brought Hiccup. Stoick was trying to read over Hiccup's shoulder but he kept interrupting to ask what certain words meant.

Hiccup wouldn't truly mind this so much, he liked teaching, except sometimes after hearing the explanation for a word or passage, Stoick would go off on a tangent about how un-Vikinglike it was, or how Vikings don't need it, or something similar.

About halfway through the book, Hiccup gave it up. His father looked up in surprise.

"What's wrong, son?"

"Nothing, dad, I'm just tired of reading," Hiccup lied. Stoick looked proud.

"Really?"

"Uh, sure. You know…I'm only reading to pass the time, I'd rather be out there…killing things and other, you know, Viking stuff."

"Good, good. You will, son, soon," Stoick beamed. Hiccup kind of nodded. He wanted to please his dad more than anything, and it seemed that the only way to do that was to act more like a Viking. Hiccup really was trying. It's not that he didn't want to be a Viking. It was just hard. He was hoping that when he stopped being a squib and learned to cast spells, everything would get better, but it hadn't. He was still just as weak and unusual as ever.

Hiccup couldn't think of anything else to say…apparently neither could Stoick. They were saved from the awkward silence when Rapunzel burst in. She was being followed by Gothel. As soon as she spotted Stoick and Hiccup she bounded over.

"Hiccup! How are you feeling?" she asked gently.

"Fine, a little bored, but fine," he said. Gothel was standing behind Rapunzel, watching them. Hiccup looked up at his dad. He had to think of a way to get rid of both parents so he and Rapunzel could talk freely.

"Um, Dad," Hiccup started, "you remember my friend Rapunzel, right?"

Stoick nodded.

"And this is Rapunzel's Mother Gothel."

"A pleasure to meet you formally," Stoick said with a curt nod.

"Anyway, Dad…I was wondering if it might be possible for Rapunzel to come visit us this summer."

"What!" Gothel said, "No, I'm afraid that-"

"An excellent idea, son," Stoick said, tousling Hiccup's hair.

"Maybe you could discuss it with her mother?" Hiccup suggested. Stoick nodded and went over to the woman, who was standing shocked.

"Oh I really don't think it's a good idea-"

"Nonsense, Rapunzel will love it on Berk. We've got fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets…" Stoick led Gothel away from Rapunzel and Hiccup, and out of the infirmary. As soon as they were alone, Rapunzel turned to Hiccup.

"Did you really mean that? Will I really see Berk this summer?"

"I'm hoping you can. I guess it all depends on your mother. But I'll see what I can do. If my dad can't talk her into it, I don't know who can. You're right though, I did have an ulterior motive. I need to know, do you have any news?"

"I do. From Jack," Rapunzel pulled out a slip of parchment and handed it to Hiccup. He read the Runes smiling at Jack's news.

"So…what is this about? Why don't you want Mother to hear?"

"It's not just your mother; I want as few people as possible to know. I'm not even going to tell my dad. Jack's news is good. Berk runes are safe. If you ever have anything you need to tell me, or any of the others in secret, use the Runes I taught you."

"So what now?"

"Now…now we wait," Hiccup picked up a book and took a spare piece of parchment. He scribbled a quick note, "Can you give this to Jack next time you see him? And whatever you do, don't tell anyone, especially not your mother."

"Not this again. Hiccup, I trust Mother. And you should too."

"Rapunzel, look at the facts, ever since your mother got here you've been acting differently. We hardly ever see you anymore. And your mother lied. She told Jack that Ombric went to Berk to get my father, but Dad told me he received a letter by owl."

"That's enough."

"And isn't it strange that the disappearances only started after she got here."

"That's enough Hiccup!"

"She keeps you locked up in that tower, she won't even let you come to Diagon Alley, or see your real parents, or-"

"I said ENOUGH!" Rapunzel yelled. She jumped back almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, as though she couldn't quite believe what she had said. Very quickly her anger turned to sobs, "First…first Jack tells my secret and then…then you….not to mention what Mother'll do…"

Rapunzel trailed off. Hiccup couldn't think of anything to say to her. After a minute Rapunzel continued,

"I will take your letter, and I won't tell mother, even though I know you are totally, one hundred percent, wrong about her."

"Thank you…and I'm sorry. I trust you, I really do, and I want to trust your mother, but with students disappearing left and right, I just don't think we can take any chances, however slim they might be."

"I'm still mad at you, and Jack. But I'll be your messenger."

"Rapunzel, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the best," Rapunzel blushed, a smile climbing onto her face despite her efforts to look angry, before taking his note and leaving Hiccup alone.

Hiccup picked up his book and started reading again, but after reading a few chapters, he was interrupted by the sound of distant crying. Hiccup put his book down to focus on the sound. It seemed to be coming from right underneath him. Before Hiccup could investigate any further, his father and Gothel came back. Hiccup quickly dove into his book, no need for Gothel to think he suspected anything.

Stoick resumed his stance, guarding over Hiccup, and Gothel left to do…whatever it is she does. Hiccup continued his reading, hoping that all his messages had been received.


	15. Searching for Clues

Merida and Jack talked quietly as History of Magic ended. Jack had shared Camicazi's news about runes with her when class started.

"So…are you going to visit Hiccup again?" Jack asked. Merida glanced away as she answered.

"I think not. I doubt I'll be able to get permission to leave again."

"Since when have you bothered to get permission?"

"I am a princess, I have to uphold the laws."

"Yeah right. I bet you break them every chance you get. Anyway, you could ask Professor Toothiana now, she's the one who took you before, I bet she'd do it again."

"I'd rather not…Hiccup's dad is here."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing…it's just…he's a Viking."

"So what? So is Hiccup."

"He is not. Have you seen him? He's nothing like the Vikings that invaded Scotland, they were all big and burly, just like his dad."

"How old were you when that happened? I'm sure everyone looked big and burly to a wee little lass," Jack mocked Merida's accent on the last line, causing Merida to whack him with her quill. Jack just laughed.

"I was five, but the Vikings really were huge and muscular.

"Just because some big Vikings attacked your home doesn't mean every big Viking is out to get you. Come on Merida, first you hate all Slytherins, then you hate all Vikings…give it a few decades and you won't have anyone left you like or who likes you in return."

"I don't hate all Vikings! I just don't have any particular desire to spend a minute with one when I don't have to…except for Hiccup that is. But seriously, have you seen his father? It's hard to believe they come from the same bloodline."

"Yeah, and I could say the same thing about you and your dad. Come to think of it, I have seen Hiccup's dad, and I've seen your dad, and I have to say…I think you and Hiccup could be related!"

Jack announced it loudly, as though proclaiming a truth. Merida rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, my dad would sooner die than associate with Vikings." By this time the whole class had packed up and started for their next class. Jack and Merida followed the rest of the class to the Great Hall for lunch, breaking apart to go to their separate tables. After lunch Merida followed the Gryffindors down to the Dungeons for Potions.

Rapunzel and the Ravenclaws were waiting. Merida walked right up to Rapunzel and the two girls took their seats. After they got out their supplies, Rapunzel pulled out a note.

"Do you have another class with Jack today?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, this is my last class till Monday."

"Oh no. This is my last class too…but I really need to get this to Jack." Rapunzel waved the note.

"Give it to him at dinner?" Merida suggested. Rapunzel shook her head.

"Mother likes me to have dinner with her in the infirmary. I'll be with Hiccup."

"I'll give it to Jack, then," Merida said, holding out her hand for the note. Rapunzel gratefully gave her the note, which Merida shoved into her bag before the lesson started.

When Professor Black dismissed the class Merida and Rapunzel parted ways. Merida was forced to go back to the Gryffindor tower, where the rest of the second years were headed. After hours of playing chess with Todd it was finally time for dinner. Merida could hardly be contained. She led as all the Gryffindors headed down for dinner. The other houses were slowly trickling in; Jack trailed behind the Slytherins slightly.

Merida ran over to him, handed him the note and then dashed back to the Gryffindors before anyone could notice she was gone. From across the room, Merida watched Jack read the note. After he read it several times, Jack handed it to the little Slytherin girl Camicazi. Rather than reading it, the girl took it over to one of the fireplaces in the Great Hall and burned the note.

Merida wondered what the note said that was so important Jack needed to destroy it. Suddenly she wished she'd read the note before handing it off. Well, at least she wouldn't get in trouble for whatever it said, hopefully.

Merida turned back to the Gryffindors, better get used to listening to their conversations, seeing as how she was going to be stuck in Gryffindor Tower for the rest of the weekend.

* * *

Jack eyed Professor Black from the Slytherin table as Camicazi returned. Black wasn't watching her, which hopefully meant he hadn't seen anything. Camicazi plopped down next to Jack and begin mindlessly chatting away again. Jack just nodded, not really paying attention. He had his mind on far more important things.

When the Slytherins returned to the dungeons after eating their fill, Jack went straight to Professor Black's office. The professor wasn't far behind. Jack told him nothing happened that day, leaving out everything about the note, and soon the professor left.

A cot had been moved into the office, but Jack didn't sit on it. No, he had far more important things to do than sleep. As soon as Jack was sure Professor Black had gone, and was not likely to return, Jack went over to the Professor's desk.

Jack highly doubted there would be anything useful in it, but Hiccup wanted Jack to find out what he could about Black, and his desk was the best place to start.

Drawer after drawer Jack silently pulled out; most of the drawers were empty. The few things in them tended to be school related papers, like lists of potions supplies Black was requesting from Ombric.

Carefully placing the papers back just the way they were, Jack continued to snoop. After looking through every drawer Jack was about to give up. He shoved the last drawer back in, and as he did he noticed how it felt a bit heavier than the rest of the drawers.

Jack looked over at the door, it hadn't moved. Slowly he pulled the drawer out. It appeared to be quite empty, and yet it felt so different from the other drawers. Examining it, Jack noticed that the inside of the drawer seemed quite a bit shallower than the outside of the drawer. It must have a false bottom, he theorized.

But try as he might, Jack couldn't find the catch, there was apparently no way to open this hidden compartment without breaking the drawer. Jack slid the drawer back in, wondering how to go about opening it.

It wasn't as though he couldn't just break it, but then he would definitely get in trouble with Professor Black, not to mention if there was proof that Black was behind everything, there was no way he would be able to tell anyone before Black caught him.

Maybe Hiccup would have some ideas, not that Jack would be able to ask him for a while. Giving up for now, Jack collapsed on the cot. He would have all weekend to figure it out.

* * *

The weekend passed quickly for Rapunzel. Now that Hiccup was in the infirmary, she no longer had to find ways to pass the time when Mother wasn't around. Of course, it seemed that Mother was always around now. She hardly left Rapunzel alone. Whenever Rapunzel said anything about it, Gothel insisted that it was just because of the monster, Rapunzel was too weak to fight it off on her own after all, and Gothel insisted that Hiccup wouldn't be much help either.

Rapunzel wanted to defend her friend, but Gothel had a point. After all, Hiccup's own father was always hanging about now trying to protect his son the way Gothel was trying to protect Rapunzel.

On Monday Hiccup and Rapunzel were having lunch together, with their parents close by. Rapunzel did trust her mother, but knowing Hiccup would object, she waited until Gothel was in a deep conversation with Stoick before bringing up the subject.

"So, I saw Jack today," Rapunzel said quietly.

"Not here, Rapunzel. Write it down for me."

"That's just it. He doesn't have any news yet. He didn't know exactly what he needed, but when he explained the problem I remembered you. Do you remember the day we met, on the train?"

"Of course."

"You were telling me about all your inventions, and I think one of them might be useful to Jack. The one you said could be used instead of a sticking spell?" Rapunzel said the last part quietly so that only Hiccup could hear. Hiccup thought for a minute before answering.

"I have some in my trunk, back in the Hufflepuff basement. When do you see Jack again?"

"Immediately after lunch."

"Too soon. When after that?"

"We have double Herbology second period tomorrow."

"Ok, I'm going to try and get it tonight. Come by early in the morning and get it to Jack as soon as you can," Hiccup said. Rapunzel nodded and they went back to discussing what he had missed in class since his injury.

After lunch ended Rapunzel went down to join Jack for Herbology. While she had been nice enough to listen to his problem and be a messenger, she was still quite mad at him for telling Mother. If Mother had thought she was weak before, she thought she was even weaker now.

So far Gothel hadn't brought up the betrayal to Rapunzel, the girl figured that was only because Hiccup was a more pressing issue. As soon as he was back to normal Rapunzel knew Gothel would come down on her.

And so, despite standing right next to Jack as they worked, Rapunzel was silent, only answering his questions about Hiccup, refusing to speak to him about anything else. Jack wasn't really pressing her either, for which Rapunzel was grateful. Mad as she was, she knew it would be a lot harder to ignore Jack if he were up in her face. Ignoring people was not her strong suit.

When the class ended, Rapunzel returned to the infirmary. Hiccup was sleeping. Rapunzel looked over his injuries. They were healing nicely. He would probably be bedridden until Christmas, but it didn't look like anything would scar.

Poor Hiccup, whenever she asked him if he was in pain, he said it was worth it so long as it left a scar. Now all this pain would be for nothing.

Rapunzel could do nothing for Hiccup, so instead she went back into her room. The rest of the day flew by. Rapunzel worked on homework, cleaned the infirmary, painted, made some candles, did some baking, and attended the rest of the Ravenclaw second year classes.

The last class of the day was Astronomy at midnight. Professor Lunanoff told them stories about shooting stars and wishing. He emphasized that even on the darkest night, there would always be a star or sliver of moon to chase the darkness away, if you only reached out and wished for it.

Rapunzel listened to the lecture tiredly. It was a very nice lecture, but Rapunzel couldn't get her mind on it. There was just too much stress, first with Mother being here, then with the disappearances and Hiccup's attack and now fighting with both Hiccup and Jack. Rapunzel couldn't focus anymore.

When the lesson ended the Ravenclaw second years left in a pack for the Ravenclaw tower. All but Rapunzel. Since she wasn't in the tower, she would have to go alone. Part of her expected Gothel to show up as an escort, but she didn't. Instead Professor Lunanoff walked with her.

"Is something troubling you, child?" the professor asked as they made their way down the tower.

"No...Yes...It's complicated."

"It's the disappearances, isn't it?"

"No… I mean it is, but … it's just… Mother. And now my friends. We got in a fight. I don't know who to side with," Rapunzel confessed.

"Might I suggest that you don't take sides? It's always best in these situations to stay out of it."

"What?" Rapunzel asked as they neared the infirmary.

"Don't interfere unless you absolutely have to; let things play out on their own. I always try to intervene as little as possible, until the problem becomes so big that I have no other choice, that is. But a fight with your friends or mother is hardly worth the trouble. Just let it all blow over. Things will go back to normal, you'll see."

They had reached the infirmary now. The professor bid Rapunzel a goodnight and left her alone feeling more confused and lost than ever. The advice hadn't been exactly what she was looking for; maybe it was because she hadn't been entirely truthful with the professor.

She supposed it was decent advice, not taking sides would spare her from having to choose. But it would also mean that both Hiccup and Mother felt betrayed, and she would constantly have to listen to Hiccup's suspicions of Mother. Rapunzel didn't know if she could take it.

Slowly she walked into the infirmary, Stoick had moved out into a spare classroom nearby so Hiccup was the only occupant. Rapunzel intended to simply walk by him on her way to bed, but as she drew near he sat up and beckoned her over.

"You should be sleeping, you're still weak," Rapunzel scolded.

"I've been sleeping all day. And I've been weak my whole life. I always get by. Anyway, I have something for you. Something for Jack," Hiccup pulled a small jar out from under his bed. Rapunzel took the glass jar gingerly.

"It needs to be heated before it'll work; I think Jack knows the fire-making spell. That should work."

"I'll be sure to give it to him," Rapunzel said.

"Rapunzel? I'm glad you're helping. And I hope you're right about your mother. I want to trust her, I really do. I'm just having trouble denying all the evidence."

"What evidence?" Rapunzel said, exasperated, "Yes, she showed up the same year the attacks started, but so did all the first years, and who knows what others? Besides, you're discounting the fact that I've been with her all that time. You don't even know what's going on around here, and you're accusing her of it."

"You're right. I'm sorry, Rapunzel. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I'll try to trust your mother, I really will. But I still think we should keep everything secret. After all, even if she is completely trustworthy, the chances that someone might overhear our plans only gets bigger the more people who know."

"Fine. I'll keep it a secret. Thank you for trusting me," Rapunzel turned and left for the night.

* * *

The next day, Jack could barely sit still through his classes. Herbology was almost over, and he was nearly bursting. Rapunzel had given him the jar of a pasty substance just outside the greenhouse and Jack was itching to get back to Black's office to try it out. Of course, that would entail getting through lunch and Charms first.

Rapunzel wasn't making time go by any faster, she was still ignoring him. He couldn't blame her. The one thing she had asked from him, the only thing she had asked from him, was that he never tell anyone about her hair. Even though her mother knew about it before, he had still broken his word.

So, Jack longed for class to end so he could try to open that drawer, and so he could escape the guilt he felt for betraying Rapunzel.

Eventually Herbology did end, lunch passed quickly with Camicazi helping to pass the time, and even Charms with Rapunzel had an interesting lecture to keep Jack entertained.

The minute class let out he took off. Normally he dragged behind the Slytherins, but tonight he led them, reaching the common room before anyone else. He dashed in, straight to Black's office.

Jack shut and locked the door behind him. Then quickly ran to the desk. He pulled out the shallow drawer and set to work breaking it. He managed to pry off the back side of the draw and spilled out the contents.

Jack stared at the items in wonder. A few papers had fallen out, along with a silver locket.

Jack picked up the locket. Who would Black be keeping a picture of? Jack looked at the locket's picture. It was all scratched up as though someone had tried to destroy it, but enough of the picture remained for Jack to make out that it was of a young girl with dark hair and a long face. It seemed somehow familiar, but with so little of the picture left, Jack couldn't figure it out.

Jack set the locket aside and looked at the papers. He picked up a few papers and as he did a picture slid out, a picture of Seraphina Pitchiner. What would Black be doing with a picture of the Herbology teacher?

Jack picked up the locket; that was who the torn up picture looked like! Professor Pitchiner. Jack flipped the picture of Seraphina over. On the back was a name.

_Emily Jane?_

Jack stared at the name. Was this Emily Jane or Seraphina? And why the question mark? Jack flipped through the papers. He couldn't understand them, they were all written in a different language. Jack copied down a sentence from one of the papers, wondering if Hiccup could translate it since he was so good at languages. Jack hated to waste valuable paper, but it would be worth it if he could prove he wasn't the attacker.

Jack put the papers and locket back into the drawer and stuck the back on with Hiccup's white substance. Rapunzel had told him he needed to heat it and suggested the incendio spell.

Jack looked at his wand. He did know the fire spell, although he wasn't as good at it as Merida. Part of the reason he used Hiccup's substance was because he didn't want anyone to detect traces of magic on the drawer.

Jack looked at the fireplace, it was unlit. Looked back at the door, no sign that anyone was coming. Jack built the fire the muggle way. He held the drawer over the warm flame until the white substance disappeared and the end of the drawer seemed to stay on without Jack holding it.

Jack slipped the drawer back. His investigation over; all that was left was to share the results.

The time to share the information came later that day. Jack passed a note to Merida during History of Magic, telling her of what he found. The next day he shared the information with Rapunzel, who promised to pass it on to Hiccup. Once the four knew, all that was left was to make sense of it. Unfortunately, that was something none of them could do.

Hiccup was getting better, which meant he was spending less time on the mystery going on around the school and more time on homework, as well as having to entertain Stoick. Rapunzel was kept busy by Mother Gothel, and besides all that, Christmas was coming. Soon it would be time for winter break.

So Jack pushed thoughts of Emily Jane and Seraphina, as well as all thoughts of the attacks, to the back of his head, letting the wonder of Christmas replace the fear in the school.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you familiar with the Guardian fandom probably recognized some elements in this chapter. For those of you who didn't and are curious, the locket and the name Emily Jane can be found in the Guardians of Childhood book series.
> 
> I will be incorporating other things from that book series into this story, though I will be making some changes.
> 
> I also want to reaffirm, you do not have to read the book series to understand anything. While the people who have read the books already know about the locket and other things I borrowed, everything will eventually be explained in the text of this story/series (Maybe not this year, though).


	16. Have a Holly Jolly Snoggletog

Winter Break did come fast and it seemed that every student was excited to leave. Well, every student who was leaving that is. Hiccup and Rapunzel were not. Hiccup was almost better, the nurse promised him he could leave the infirmary when classes resumed.

Hiccup partly wanted to go back to Berk, if only to show off his injuries before they completely healed over, partly to celebrate Snoggletog with the rest of Berk, considering it wasn't celebrated in England. But another part of him was really glad he was still at Hogwarts. He was afraid that if he went to Berk, his father might not let him come back. He was also glad for Rapunzel. Since her mother was here, Rapunzel would be staying at Hogwarts as well.

Stoick for his part brought the magic of Snoggletog to the infirmary, helping Rapunzel decorate. Rapunzel levitated tree after tree, making the infirmary look more like the forest than a hospital. Stoick put up garlands and wreathes, as well as hanging decorative shields all along the walls. Stoick even made a large fake tree out off green planks, just like the one used at home. It wasn't long before Hiccup started to feel like he was back on Berk.

"It looks amazing," Hiccup commented as Rapunzel finished decorating a tree with colored lights.

"I know! I'm so glad you're here, Hiccup. This will be my very first Christmas with someone," Rapunzel said.

"Okay, what is Christmas? I've heard it mentioned several times."

"You don't know about Christmas? But your Dad's been helping me decorate."

"Yeah, but us Vikings celebrate Snoggletog."

"Snoggletog…that's an odd-"

"Why we chose such a stupid name is a mystery, but anyway, it's our annual holiday. I guess Christmas is that to you, huh?"

"Yes, I always thought everyone celebrated Christmas."

"Vikings don't. So anyway, tell me about Christmas. Does Odin leave stuff in your…whatever you have besides helmets?"

"No, but Santa Claus does. He brings gifts and leaves them under the tree, or in stockings hanging by the chimney. Who's Odin?"

"Odin is one of the gods, the biggest god. The god of war, battle, victory, death, wisdom, magic, poetry, prophesy, and the hunt. And he brings gifts on Snoggletog. What about that Santa? Is he a god?"

"No, he's…I don't know, like the Easter Bunny."

"Berk doesn't celebrate Easter either, what does this 'santa' look like?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, he's tall, and has a white beard and wears a read coat, and every year on Christmas, he travels the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, delivering gifts, eating the milk and cookies kids leave out for him. Oh! And they say he lives at the North Pole, and house elves make the toys."

"Elves making toys? Now I've heard everything."

"It's no weirder than the god of war delivering toys," Rapunzel and Hiccup sparred in a friendly debate about their respective Snoggletog/Christmas traditions. Hiccup found it to be quite fun. He could see why Jack and Merida enjoyed fighting so much.

The rest of winter break was very similar. Rapunzel and Hiccup played games, sometimes with Stoick and Gothel joining in. They sang songs, read books and just had a very happy Snoggletog.

* * *

Rapunzel was in her room on Christmas Eve, rummaging through her trunk. Snoggletog had passed a few days before, and Hiccup had given her charcoal to draw with.

Now Rapunzel just had to think of something to give to Hiccup. She looked out her window and made a wish on a star. She wished that she knew what to do for Hiccup. Her answer came that night in a dream.

Christmas day, Rapunzel woke up feeling very refreshed, a plan in her head. When she joined Hiccup that morning, she brought paper and a charcoal pen.

"What's this?" Hiccup asked, looking at the paper.

"I didn't know what to get…but I know how much you love to learn, so my Christmas gift to you is a lesson. You taught us how to read, I'm going to teach you how to draw, if you'd like."

"That's a great idea," Hiccup said, taking the pen and paper.

"You'll want to start with basic shapes; everything in life can be broken down into a circle, square, or triangle," Rapunzel started. The two spent all of Christmas day practicing drawing, breaking only briefly to have dinner with their parents, and to open the presents under the tree. Hiccup got good at it. By the end of the day he was even able to sketch some rough drawings of what the Dragons of Berk looked like. Rapunzel had no doubt that in time Hiccup would be able to accurately draw every dragon in the world.

* * *

Merida rolled her eyes as her mother talked. She had almost forgotten how dull life at Castle Dunbroch could be. Mum was back to scolding her over the most minor provocations, like it mattered if Merida slouched just a bit.

It wasn't all bad, though. Merida managed to make time for Angus, and she got to play with her one-year-old brothers. Though they were very young, accounts of their mischief had piled up during Merida's absence. Maudie had stories of the boys being in their crib, and then suddenly being somewhere else.

Merida realized from these stories that her brothers were probably going to be wizards. Merida tried to tell her parents, but they didn't listen.

"Wizard triplets? Ha, don't be daft, meh wee darlin', you bein' a witch is my magic threshold," King Fergus laughed.

"What did you say, dear? Oh, Maudie I need you to take these," Queen Elinor said, turning away from Merida. The young princess sighed and left her parents' room, if her parents wouldn't listen to her, then she didn't have to listen to them!

Merida grabbed her bow and arrows and ran to get Angus. It had been a long time, but she still managed to clear the course she had set up in the forest surrounding Castle Dunbroch.

As her last arrow hit its mark Merida gave a sigh of contentment, this was what life was all about. Soon she would be back in princess lessons, and then back to a haunted school, but in this moment of peace, none of that felt terribly important. Right now, in this moment, life was perfect.

* * *

Jack rolled over to look at his sister, sleeping peacefully by his side. She had hardly let him go since he came back from school, for which Jack was very grateful. Having his sister here, not afraid of him, or being kept apart, this was what he wanted.

Jack was still quite fearful that he was the attacker, but at least here at his home he didn't have to be afraid. He knew that no matter what strange powers he possessed, he would never hurt his family.

Emma mumbled in her sleep, causing Jack to smile. It was good to know she wasn't having nightmares the way he was. That was why he was awake at the moment. He had had a nightmare.

A log cracked in the fireplace and Emma's eyes flashed open.

"What?" she said groggily.

"Nothing, go back to sleep," Jack cooed to the five year old. Emma closed her eyes as Jack suggested. The boy looked at the fire, it was almost out. He got up and added a new log to keep it from dying, the last log inside the house.

Deciding that keeping the house warm was more important than sleep, not that Jack ever had restful sleeps anymore, Jack grabbed his cloak and set out to get some more wood.

The woodpile outside the house was depleted, too, so Jack turned to the woods. It was a dark night, a night with no moon, but Jack knew these woods well. He didn't need a moon to guide him. Jack grabbed a lantern and set off.

He made his way down a familiar trail, to a familiar tree, enjoying the cool breeze as it rushed past his skin. He gathered large branches along the way. When he felt he had enough, Jack set them down to rest before heading back home.

As he rested, he looked at the snow. Touching his palm to it, Jack concentrated until his frost spread across it. Suddenly he laughed. His frost wasn't so scary. In fact, out here with no one around, it looked quite beautiful. Why should he be scared of it? He couldn't have been the one behind those attacks, even if all the evidence did point his way. Jack knew, just from watching his frost spread out, it couldn't be him. His frost was a natural thing, ice crystals forming, spreading from where he touched. The frost he had seen on Crispin's bed, which did look like a copy of Jack's painting, looked like a _copy_ of that painting. Just like it, like the ice had been painted onto Crispin's bed, not like Jack's frost that spread out and grew.

Jack laughed as he gained more and more confidence that he was not the culprit, until he had a disturbing revelation. If he didn't make the frost, then who did? And how did they get it so close to what Jack had imagined? It had to be someone who had seen his picture, someone who had spent enough time with it to copy it…but the only people who Jack could say for sure had seen it, were Hiccup, Merida, Rapunzel…and Flynn.

* * *

Flynn Rider stared at his campfire this cold winter's night. The sixteen-year-old huddled closer to the flame. Another Christmas come and gone, with no presents. Flynn didn't care. He had more important things to do.

Flynn had spent the better part of the year working to become the best thief the world has ever seen. It hadn't worked so far. He'd managed to steal a total of 30 coins…and get arrested 50 times.

Often he had thought of giving up…but then he would notice the shadows and be reminded of why he was determined to become a thief. He needed to get that crown. It was the only way anyone would ever listen to him.

Flynn sighed as he put out his fire. He wondered how long it would take before he actually managed to steal the crown. What if he was too late? Pitch might have killed those kids that very night...

No. He couldn't think like that. He had to make it in time, he needed to expose Pitch for the villain he was before anyone got hurt.

Flynn lay down. Tomorrow he would be ready to face the world again, but on this Christmas night he would just enjoy the sweet dreams, dreaming of when his quest was over and he could relax, preferably somewhere warm , like an island...

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flynn's not really in this story, but I thought I'd give a bonus Flynn update anyway, for Christmas/Snoggletog. Well, happy belated Snoggletog everyone!


	17. The First Fearling

Stoick left for Berk just as the other students came back from their winter break. Hiccup, finally allowed out of the hospital wing, saw him off before going back to the Hufflepuff Basement. He was a bit sad to leave Rapunzel all alone with Gothel, but he ached to get back to classes.

Copying other people's notes could only take him so far. Unfortunately, all the classes he had missed had knocked him even further behind than he was before. Hiccup feared he would never catch up. He was doomed to be the worst Viking-Wizard on Berk, maybe in the whole world.

The restrictions about where students could go were still in place, but Merida and Jack still managed to share what had happened over winter break. Hiccup was most interested in Jack's news. The idea that someone was framing him was powerful indeed and it limited their suspects.

While anyone could have seen the picture when it was up last year, Hiccup was certain there was only one person who could have managed to copy it, Mother Gothel.

Rapunzel had taken the tarp home with her; Gothel had all summer to copy it. The only question was, how had she managed to convert the painting into ice?

From his time in the infirmary, Hiccup knew Gothel couldn't use magic. She must have a witch or wizard accomplice. But that was where his mind was drawing a blank. He hadn't seen Gothel with anyone but the nurse or Rapunzel.

Hiccup also couldn't forget his suspicions of Professor Black. Hiccup wasn't truly sure what he suspected the professor of, just a general feeling, but he doubted it was an accident that he had been attacked right after sending a letter inquiring about his suspicions. Still, there was nothing really connecting Pitch Black to Gothel.

As classes picked up, Hiccup was forced to put his suspicions on the back burner. He was so far behind in classes, he spent nearly every waking hour, and possibly some sleeping ones, practicing spells. Hiccup missed his friends, but the truth was, he was glad to be away from them, it was much easier to study on his own.

There had been no disappearances since the attack on Crispin and the school was starting to relax. It seemed that the holidays had lifted everyone's spirits. Hiccup wasn't sure if he wanted the peace to remain or not.

On one hand it would be great if the attacks stopped, on the other hand, if there were no more attacks, they would never learn who was framing Jack, and there would always be an underlying fear that the disappearances might start again.

There could never be true peace until the villain was caught and the truth was known. Hiccup only hoped that the end came soon.

* * *

Jack flipped though his book. He should be studying. He knew he should. It was really the only thing he could do. But that didn't make it easy. Jack needed other people to help him learn. He learned best from practice. He's gotten used to practicing with Hiccup and Merida. When he was worried he was the attacker, he assumed that was what was distracting him. But now that those fears had subsided he knew it was the loneliness.

Jack had considered telling Professor Black he was sure he wasn't the culprit, but decided against it. Hiccup being suspicious of Professor Black reminded Jack of his own suspicions…including one where the professor had lied to him last year and told him Merida had the supreme authority at the school. Last year Jack had believed it, but now that he'd gotten to know Merida, he was sure that if she did have any authority here, she didn't know it.

Hiccup had also reminded Jack about Flynn's disappearance, and how they had seen Flynn right before they left, and told him they were going into the dark forest. After talking with Hiccup, Jack tried to remember the night more clearly. Flynn had said he was going to a meeting with a teacher the night before Easter…but he had never mentioned leaving the school. Jack assumed it was a last minute deal…maybe everything else had slipped his mind, but deep down Jack wondered if that was the truth.

Flynn knew that at least three first years were going into the dark forest and he was on his way to meet a professor. Would he really not have told? Maybe Black was right, and Flynn wasn't truly Jack's friend. Or maybe Black was lying about Flynn's departure.

A noise from the common room caught his attention. Jack crawled over and peered under the door. He couldn't see much but he clearly heard the voices of Camicazi and Derek.

"I'm glad Pitch finally got around to evicting that mudblood from our dorm. I only hope the monster gets him next," Derek said.

"The monster won't get him," a girl's voice called out. "I hear he is the monster."

"You're wrong! Jack has nothing to do with any of this. He's innocent I swear," Camicazi defended Jack.

"Look guys, this little pipsqueak's defending her mudblood boyfriend. What a weakling."

"Weakling!" Camicazi screeched. After that Jack heard fighting, clearly she had brought out her wooden sword. She constantly talked as she and the boys were fighting, but with the sound of spells being cast and wood on wood, plus the fact that she was moving around, he could no longer make out what was being said.

It didn't matter, really it didn't; he was just thrilled to know she was standing up for him, she believed in him!

"I'll show you all!" Camicazi said, panting, the fighting seemed to have stopped."I'll catch the real monster. I'll teach it who's boss."

Jack smiled and heard no more. He might not have a lot of friends. But it was nice to know the ones he did have were so loyal. Who cared if Flynn wasn't his friend when he had such wonderful friends in Camicazi, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel. Even if he never got to spend time with them.

Fears abated and friendships reassured, Jack was truly happy.

* * *

Rapunzel walked with Gothel down the dark halls. She was feeling fairly happy, today was the last day of February, and she'd managed to convince Mother to take her down to Hufflepuff Basement so she could give Hiccup a box of cookies she had made.

The two had just passed the kitchen when it happened. They turned a corner and right there, standing in front of them was the scariest creature Rapunzel had ever seen. Rapunzel screamed.

The creature was black and shadowy, with hollow eyes. The body was ghost-like, with few definable limbs and the limbs that were there were horribly gnarled, wispy and twisted, unlike anything Rapunzel had seen before. It moaned and reached for her.

Gothel pulled the girl away, shoving her down the hall, "Run Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel ran. As fast as her legs could carry her, the child ran. The hallway Mother Gothel had pushed her down led to the Hufflepuff Basement, so that's where she ran to. She pounded on the door, calling out for help.

The door didn't open. Rapunzel collapsed crying. She heard a loud screech and Gothel appeard. She hugged the girl.

"It's alright, it's gone now. Mother's right here. Mother will protect you," Rapunzel cried into her mother's shoulder as the door to the Hufflepuff Basement slid open. Twenty or so Hufflepuffs were standing around the common room.

"What is the meaning of all this commotion?" The Head of House, Professor Jacob Grimm demanded, stepping out into the hall. Most of the Hufflepuffs stayed back, all but one.

Hiccup came out to see Rapunzel in the hall. Rapunzel pulled away from Gothel to be closer to Hiccup as she and Mother explained what they had seen.

The professor's face grew very grim as they described the monster. Hiccup looked thoughtful. Rapunzel could barely get her mouth to work, so as a result Mother did most of the talking. Professor Grim was solemn.

"This creature could be very dangerous. We shall have to inform the headmaster at once. Perhaps he can shed some light on the situation," Grimm said. He sent Hiccup back into the basement before leading Rapunzel and Gothel up to Headmaster Ombric's office.

Rapunzel was led to a gargoyle on the third floor. Professor Grimm gave the password, Moondust, and the gargoyle moved revealing a hidden staircase. The three climbed up to the office. Headmaster Ombric was waiting.

He ushered them in, gesturing for them to sit. A wave of his wand and a mug of hot cocoa and cookies appeared before Rapunzel.

"To help calm your nerves," he explained. "Now, tell me, what happened? Divination could only take me so far."

Gothel restated the story, describing in detail the awful shadowy figure they had seen in the school. Ombric looked pensive.

"And when it reached out for Rapunzel I was so scared, I just grabbed a torch off the wall and threw it at the thing. It disappeared, but I don't think it's gone for good," Gothel said, petting Rapunzel's hair as she finished the story.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" he asked them. They both shook their heads. He looked up at the moon through a nearby window. A moonbeam came down and lit up the floor. Suddenly an image of a shadow appeared on the ground. The shadow looked just like what Rapunzel had seen. She screamed again.

"That's it! That's what I saw!" Rapunzel said leaning closer into Gothel; Mother would protect her. Headmaster Ombric waved his hands and the moonbeam flew away.

"This is what I feared. An old enemy has returned, and I fear the war may be renewed. The thing you saw is called a Fearling. I must consult some of the other professors, the ones who have dealt with Fearlings before. For now, you should head back to bed."

"Um, Headmaster," Rapunzel asked, "is this…Fearling? Is it what's behind the disappearances?"

"I do not know, child. Now go, I have much to do."

Rapunzel and Gothel left the office. As they walked back down the stairs, Gothel tried to comfort Rapunzel.

"Dearest, that Fearling may still be around, are you quite sure you don't want to go home? I can protect you much better there," Gothel encouraged.

"No! I need to learn to defend myself, Mother."

"Oh, Rapunzel, I admire your determination, but really, challenging a monster that even the headmaster can't fight isn't the way to do it."

"But I'll never learn how to control my magic back in my tower. No. I have to stay. Besides, I can't leave my friends here with that…that thing. They would come to my rescue; I have to be there for them."

Gothel frowned but said nothing more as they made their way back to the infirmary, with no more unusual encounters.

* * *

Hiccup lay awake in bed. He kept replaying Rapunzel's story over and over in his head. The strange creature she described, or rather Gothel described, haunted him. He had never seen anything like it before, but that didn't mean he knew nothing. Robert and William were still up, they had both pulled closed the curtains around their beds, but Hiccup could see light shining through the cracks.

Slowly he got up and lit his own candle. As quietly as he could, he reached into his truck and pulled out a letter. It was the response from the letter he had sent out the day he was attacked.

The letter he had sent was actually three letters, but he kept that hidden, even from his friends, just in case someone overheard. He sent the letters to Gobber, one letter asking Gobber to send the other two on to whomever he thought might be able to respond.

Gobber wasn't the most knowledgeable Viking-Wizard in the world, but he knew a lot of people. Hiccup knew he could always trust Gobber to help him with little problems like this. Back when he though he was a squib Gobber was the only one who treated him like he was still useful, even without magic, giving him an apprenticeship at the shop.

Gobber had come through a week ago, he even transcribed the results into Berk script, something Hiccup hadn't asked for but was deeply glad he had done. Hiccup had read through the results multiple times, he still hadn't figured out what they meant, but Rapunzel's monster seemed connected.

Hiccup had asked about shadow travel, how it was done, who could do it, etc. The answer Gobber sent came from a wizard who lived very far north, in a Siberian town called Santoff Clausen. The letter explained that shadow travel was not a well known form of travel here on earth, though it was extremely popular in a different galaxy. The people at Santoff Clausen didn't know much about the other galaxy, only that its golden age came to an end a long time ago.

The letter explained that the only man on earth who seemed capable of shadow travel was a man named Kozmotis Pitchiner, a man known for having an army of shadow creatures. Hiccup wondered if he was connected to Professor Seraphina Pitchiner, or Emily Jane, if Jack's find was anything to go by.

The letter concluded with a note telling him to seek out Ombric Shalazar, as he was an expert on the Golden Age. When Hiccup read the name he almost dropped the letter in shock. Ombric wasn't that common a name, was it? Could there be a connection between him and the Headmaster? That was ridiculous, of course. Ombric was the headmaster's last name, wasn't it? Hiccup flipped trough his trunk until he found his acceptance letter, sure enough the headmaster was Finnegan Ombric, not Ombric Shalazar. Still, it was quite a coincidence. Hiccup filed the name away. He could research these Ombrics later.

The second question he had received an answer to was even more confusing. He had also asked Gobber to look into students at Hogwarts, particularly a student named Flynn Rider. The response was baffling. It seemed that there was no Flynn Rider, not only that but there never had been. Gobber had even gone the extra mile and tried to find Flynn in general in the wizarding community, but there was absolutely no record of the boy anywhere. That's why it had taken so long to get his reply. Gobber didn't want to come back empty handed, but it truly seemed as though Flynn Rider did not exist. The closest thing Gobber had found was a children's book called _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_. But that was a muggle children's book written nearly a hundred years ago.

Hiccup had known these results for almost a full week, so far without sharing the results with anyone. Hiccup didn't know how to proceed. Should he confront one of the possible involved professors? Ombric and Seraphina might not be connected at all; just a coincidence of names, and Hiccup wouldn't dare bring it up to Pitch Black. He also didn't want to tip off Pitch, or anyone with possible negative intentions, to his findings about Flynn.

Hiccup did plan to eventually tell Rapunzel, Merida and Jack about what he'd learned. He just didn't know when he should, or how he should.

* * *

Merida was sitting in the common room reading. Her mum had sent her back to school with mountains of extra work to help her become a 'proper' princess. Merida could barely stand it, but with the school practically closed down she had nothing better to do.

Merida was just about to open her geography book (A princess must be knowledgeable about her kingdom), when Professor Bunnymund came down. He ran through the common room, not seeming to have noticed any of the students there. Merida closed her book and watched the professor as he leapt out the door of Gryffindor Tower.

Merida wondered where he was going, a smile crept on her face. It had been a long time since she had been on an adventure. Quietly Merida followed Bunnymund as he went around the school. She knew she shouldn't be out here alone, but she wasn't afraid, she was far too brave to fear the monster.

Bunnymund was fast. Faster than she would ever expect from a professor. Sometimes when he ran, he even seemed to be on all fours. But Merida was fast too; she kept a fair distance, but still managed to keep up with the professor. He went straight to the staff room. Merida knelt down next to the door. She could hear everything.

"This better be good, Ombric. I gotta keep watch over my students. Besides, Easter is only a month away. I have to prepare," Bunnymund said.

"This is very serious," the headmaster said. "A Fearling was spotted."

No one spoke. Professor Toothiana broke the silence.

"A Fearling? Are you sure?"

"The student confirmed it. Whatever it was, it looked like a Fearling. And there's only one person we know who uses Fearlings."

"No. It can't be him!" a woman's voice said. Merida had never heard this woman before; she must teach one of the elective classes.

"I'm afraid it is, Katherine," Ombric said, "Even if what the child saw wasn't a Fearling, it was still made by someone who knows what Fearlings look like, and there aren't many who have seen them. This Fearling on top of the ice attacks, or worse, this Fearling could be the result of the attacks. What if this new Fearling was one of the missing? I fear Hogwarts is not safe. Perhaps we should close down the school."

"No," Professor Lunnoff said, "that's what he wants, I'm sure. What spreads fear more than ignorance? I would bet Kozmotis wants the school closed. Imagine, a whole generation of young witches and wizards with no control over their magic, some with no idea they can cast spells at all. I can't imagine how frightened the children would be; unable to explain why they could make strange things happen, accidentally hurting people with their untrained powers. Look at that witch in Arendelle. Her father refused to let her come to school, and now the child can barely control herself. I don't want more students to end up like young Princess Elsa. No. We must keep Hogwarts open."

"I don't know if we can, Mim," Ombric said. "We've got three missing students and a monster sighting. I'll try to hold out as long as I can but parents will start complaining soon. Even if the school does remain open, it won't be long before all the parents pull their kids out. I've already had some pressure from Princess Rapunzel's parents. They're concerned that their only heir is in danger here, and I don't blame them. The news of what's happening here has even traveled to the muggle world. Just this morning I received a letter from the Queen of Scotland, she too is considering taking her daughter out, and this was all before we knew about the Fearling."

Merida gasped and backed away. Her mum was thinking of taking her out of school? She hadn't said anything to Merida about that. The professor continued to discuss the issue but Merida was no longer interested. She backed away from the door. No point in getting caught out of her dorm.

Merida tossed and turned all night. She couldn't go back home, and she couldn't let it happen to Rapunzel either. With a new determination, Merida finally fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fearlings, and most of the back story in this chapter, are from the Guardians of Childhood book series. I know some of you haven't/can't/don't want to read it, but I feel I should credit it (also this way you can look up pictures of the stuff if my description doesn't do it justice). Elsa is from Frozen, although I don't plan to involve her in this story.


	18. Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter everyone, may Bunnymund bring you lots of his googies.

 

* * *

 

The next day in class Jack noticed that all the professors looked highly sleep deprived. Still, they insisted upon giving boring lectures. Jack half listened, his mind wandering. As the lesson drew to a close Merida handed him a note. He waited until he was back in the common room to read it. It was written in Runes, clearly Merida's handwriting, asking him to meet the others in their usual spot at midnight that night. Jack crumpled it up, throwing it towards the fire before going into Professor Black's office.

The door locked behind him. Jack wouldn't be able to get to the meeting, not so long as Professor Black kept him locked up in this office.

The note seemed urgent. Merida wasn't the usual note sender. It was normally Hiccup's job. She must have something really important to say if she needed them all there at midnight. Jack waited, and thought.

For hours he thought. At first he had been fine with being confined, back when he thought he was guilty; now that the fear had passed he couldn't stand it anymore. He looked at the door. He could pick the lock. He actually knew the alohamora spell; he could probably get out. Except Professor Black had probably enchanted the door against that particular spell, and even if he hadn't he probably had some kind of sensor on the door to alert him if Jack tried to leave.

Jack looked around the room. There were only two other points of entry, the fireplace and a window that was under the lake. Jack looked up the chimney. He had no floo powder to go through it, but maybe he could climb up the shaft? No, he wasn't Santa Claus. The window was under the lake, Jack thought that looked more promising.

He checked the clock. 11:30, time to roll. Slowly Jack walked over to the window and put his hands on it. Jack concentrated.

An icy feeling spread through his limbs. His frost danced on the window. Jack focused harder. The water outside the window started to frost over. Jack put all he had into it. The water turned solid.

Jack took out his wand, using a severing spell he cut the glass away from the window. The chunk of ice held fast, keeping the water from flowing into the room. Jack put his hands on the ice and made it bigger; slowly he pushed it away, freezing new water that tried to rush in and fill the gap until he had a decent sized cubby hole. He climbed into the hole before he put the window back on with the sticking charm and then pushed the cubby of ice away from it. Quickly he froze the water that touched the side, trapping himself in an ice cube, once separated from the wall, it floated straight up to the top of the lake. Jack used the fire spell to remove the top.

It felt so good to be out, the wind rushing in his face, not so good as flying, or the exhilarating thrill of a snowball fight, but still much better than waiting around the professor's office. Jack suddenly wished he had brought his broom with him, then he could just fly up to their meeting spot, rather than having to sneak around the castle.

Maybe he could have his broom. Last year Hiccup's first successful spell was the summoning charm. Jack hadn't tried it, but maybe he could do it. He waved his wand.

"Accio Broomstick," Jack said quietly. He waited, and then to his surprise the broom came to him. It landed a few feet away, in the water but still it came. Jack paddled over and grabbed it. He hadn't flown in a while, it felt good to have the broom back in his hands. The broom practically lifted him off the ground. As soon as Jack jumped off his ice cube it started to melt. He laughed at the sight. Flying felt so good. So utterly freeing.

Jack flipped and twirled as he flew around the school, eventually landing on a ledge beneath the window just outside their club room. Merida was standing next to the window. Jack couldn't resist.

He hung low on his broom, so he couldn't be seen by the occupants of the room, slowly he touched his fingers on the glass, a trail of frost crept up. Jack watched as Merida started to shiver, suddenly she noticed the frost, and jumped several feet in the air. Jack flew higher, uncontrollably laughing. Merida opened the window and Jack flew in.

"What was that about!" she whispered, though clearly she wanted to scream it.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it."

"I'll help you," Merida hissed advancing on Jack. "You do that to me one more time and I'll kill you."

"If you two are done," Hiccup said. Jack noticed he and Rapunzel were standing close to the fire. "Can we get down to business?"

"Sorry, Hic." Jack dismounted from his broom and looked at the other three.

"Why did you call us here?" Rapunzel asked Merida, looking nervously towards the door.

"I overheard the professors; they were talking about this new monster, a Fearling."

"I know. I'm the one who saw it," Rapunzel said, "It was like a shadow, but worse. It was even more terrifying than those horses we saw last year. The horses were scary, but this just looked…well, it looked human…like the ghost of a human, but darker, twisted."

"They said it was a human," Merida replied. "The professors said that it might be one of the students who disappeared, but what's worse, they said the school might close."

"What!" Rapunzel and Hiccup said.

"Wait, what's a Fearling?" Jack asked.

"A shadow creature," Hiccup said.

"Am I the only one who's hearing about this for the first time?" Jack asked looking at his friends. They nodded. Jack stayed silent. Had they all learned about it in different places, or were they meeting up without him? Was he being evicted from the group? No, they had called him here now. Jack let the fear dwindle, but it didn't disappear completely.

"Anyway, worse than the school closing, it seems my parents, and Rapunzel's parents, want us to leave."

"You mean Mother Gothel? No, I talked to her. She's said I could stay."

"Actually, I think they meant your biological parents. Seems the king and queen of Corona don't want their heir here with monsters on the loose."

"No. I can't go back!" Rapunzel said, pulling her hair, "I can't go back yet. Hogwarts ... it's all I've got."

"Me, too," Jack said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If the school closes I'll have to go back and become a shepherd. My future, it's here. This school is my only chance at an education."

"Mine, too," Hiccup added. "Otherwise I guess I'll be back as Gobber's apprentice."

"Hogwarts is my only escape from my education," Merida said. "Without Hogwarts I'd have to be a princess 24/7. I need the school."

"We can't let it close," Hiccup said, "and we can't let our parents fear. We need to put a stop to this. We have to try."

"How?" Rapunzel asked.

"I need to think. Let's go over what we've got. Jack?"

"Professor Black has a picture of Professor Pitchiner with the wrong name written on it, someone was framing me for the disappearances, and I had repeated blackouts." Jack purposely left out suspicions about Gothel, for fear of upsetting Rapunzel.

"Merida?"

"The professors seem to think the Fearling was a student. Oh, and they mentioned a man named Kozmotis might be behind it."

"Wait, Kozmotis? Kozmotis Pitchiner?" Hiccup asked.

"You know him?" Jack asked.

"He's apparently the only known practitioner of shadow travel."

"Like what Professor Black does?" Jack asked.

"Exactly," Hiccup said. "I wonder if he taught Black how to do it? Or if he's related to Professor Pitchiner? Professor Black is looking more and more suspicious. So far all the evidence is circumstantial. We need proof before we go around accusing him."

"Hiccup, knowing who's doing it is great and all," Merida said, "but I'd like to know what exactly he's doing and how he's doing it. Or more importantly, where are the disappearing students going?"

"I don't know. They must be around here somewhere. If they're being turned into Fearlings that might explain why the professors can't find them. I don't know much about those creatures, but it doesn't sound like they leave behind bodies," Hiccup replied.

"Rapunzel, do they have teeth?" Merida asked. The blonde shook her head. Merida continued, "I know Professor Toothiana was searching for teeth of the students."

"So I guess the question is, where are the others?" Jack asked. "We've only seen one Fearling, but three students went missing. Where are the other two?"

Hiccup thought, "I heard some noises when I was in the infirmary. It sounded like crying."

"I've heard it too, late at night when I'm alone," Rapunzel said.

"Do you suppose Fearlings can cry?" Merida asked. Hiccup and Rapunzel shrugged.

"Alright, Rapunzel, do you suppose you can check it out for us?" Hiccup asked. Rapunzel looked nervous but nodded. A clock chimed and the four knew they had to part ways before anyone noticed they were out of bed.

Jack jumped out the window, flying around the school once before heading down to the dungeon window. Getting back into the room was considerably harder than getting out had been. Getting out, the ice's buoyancy had been an aid, but now it hindered him. He ended up having to freeze the water all the way down to the window, making a sort of water slide.

Jack held his breath as he went down the slide, he blasted the window off as soon as he reached it, freezing the water behind him, but the room was still soaked with the water that had come in with him. Jack laughed at the drenched office.

"Think that's funny, do you?" a voice sneered. Jack froze and flipped around to face Professor Black.

"After all the work I go through, giving you my private office, this is how you repay me? By sneaking out? Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Black demanded advancing on the boy. Jack held his broomstick up defensively.

"I didn't do anything. I learned to control my powers. I'm not the one kidnapping people."

"Oh no? That's not what you told me," Black said, "and here I find you missing on the night of another disappearance."

Jack's brain whirled. Another disappearance? The first one he hadn't blacked out for. He knew, this time with absolute clarity that he was not guilty. Still he swallowed, "Who?"

"A girl. A Slytherin. In fact I think you know her," Black threw a crumpled up note at Jack. Jack opened it, it was the note Merida had given him, he thought he burned it.

"Look familiar? I found it on the girl's bed. I believe Camicazi was trying to follow the instructions when she disappeared," Pitch said. Guilt flooded through Jack. He may not have blacked out, or left a frost pattern on her bed, but this attack was his fault.

"Are…are you sure she's gone?" Jack asked, his voice trembling. "Maybe she's just not back yet."

"My dear child, if she was out there, do you honestly think I'd be in here?" Black said. "I should expel you for this, you know. Being out of bed, even with all the regulations, disobeying me and possibly leading another student to death. But I'll give you one last chance. I warn you though, one toe out of line, and it will be expulsion. Now can I trust you to stay put or do I need to give you a sleeping potion?" Black asked.

"I'll stay," Jack said bowing his head. The professor nodded and left. Jack looked up. Why hadn't he been expelled? Hiccup thought Pitch might be the real culprit. He certainly had opportunity. Maybe there was some merit to the theory.

Jack rolled over. They wouldn't have time to wait for Rapunzel to search the infirmary. They needed to find Camicazi before she was turned into a Fearling. Jack came up with a plan.

* * *

"Why didn't you put him to sleep?" Gothel asked Pitch Black as she dragged a limp Camicazi into the infirmary. "I thought you wanted him to think he was the attacker."

"The fear of that passed. As soon as he came back from the stupid Christmas break I knew I had lost my puppet. He noticed the differences in our ice versus his."

"I'll never get how you can do that," Gothel said as she bound the Viking girl.

"I know fear. I can always tell when someone is afraid. That's how I knew the boy was out of bed. He felt fear. It passed quickly, but it was enough for me to spy on them. They suspect me. Our time is limited. Good call on informing the princesses' parents of the school's trouble. I loved the surge of fear I got from them."

"I was hoping Rapunzel's parents would choose to end her education, but Ombric talked them out of it."

"Good, good, we need Rapunzel to choose to be in her tower; otherwise she'll always try to leave. What would scare the girl more than showing her exactly how a Fearling comes to be? We won't turn this child yet," Pitch said, gesturing to Camicazi, "she'll be the bait. Let the four come here to rescue her. My Fearlings will deal with three of them then you can step in and save Rapunzel. After a mass attack the school will have to shut down. Rapunzel will be so frightened after witnessing the destruction of her friends, she will never want to leave your side."


	19. Jack's Plan

The next day at breakfast Jack came to Hiccup in a panic. He gave Hiccup a note detailing what had transpired that night, everything about Camicazi and Pitch, before going to his own table. Hiccup read through the note before looking back to Jack. He looked more depressed than Hiccup had ever seen him. More depressed than when he was being punished, more depressed than when he was being picked on by his housemates, more depressed than when he thought he was the attacker.

Hiccup brought the note over to Rapunzel. She read it then handed it off to Merida. Jack had detailed a plan of rescue for Camicazi. The four students looked at each other and nodded. They would put Jack's plan into action as soon as possible.

After breakfast they had to part ways for classes, but they all had second period free so that was when they planned to act. Jack and Merida would take the lead; Rapunzel and Hiccup went up to the library to wait for Jack and Merida. They were the only students there, for which Hiccup was very grateful. Hiccup kept one hand on his wand as he pretended to be looking through the books. They didn't have to wait long before the commotion began.

The big window in the library shattered as a boy, Jack, on a broomstick crashed through, tumbling off his broom into a bookshelf, knocking down row after row of them. Hiccup cringed seeing so many good books falling carelessly onto the floor.

"AHHH," Jack screamed clutching his ankle. Merida flew in after him and landed by Jack's side. The librarian ran over to them.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Jack was just showing me how to fly," Merida exclaimed, "when the wind caught him and blew him into the school. I think his ankle's broken."

Hiccup waved his wand and whispered an incantation. Jack lifted his ankle; it did look broken, just as it had last year when it really was broken.

Hiccup came over to Jack. Jack gave him a wink before letting out another moan of pain.

"What were you doing out on your brooms?" Mr. Qwerty demanded.

"He was teaching me to fly," Merida repeated. "I'm a first year; I was struggling with it all year. He just wanted to help."

Merida almost started to cry. Hiccup rolled his eyes. Merida was many things, but a natural actress was not one of them. Still, Mr. Qwerty seemed to buy it.

"Can you walk at all, boy?" he demanded of Jack.

Jack slowly stood up. Using his broomstick as a crutch, he gingerly took a few steps.

"I'll take you to the nurse," Mr. Qwerty said. He helped Jack hobble out of the library. As soon as they were gone Hiccup and Rapunzel went straight to the restricted section. Merida kept watch on the door.

"How long do you think we have?" Merida asked.

"Not long," Hiccup replied as he scanned the books. "Jack'll try to keep him as long as possible but the nurse will see through that spell in an instant. How did Mr. Qwerty not know that you were a second year?"

"Easy. I've never been in the library before."

"How could you never go to the library before?" Hiccup asked in shock. Merida shrugged. Hiccup let the conversation die so he and Rapunzel could continue to read the books in peace.

Rapunzel was a fast reader and it wasn't long before she called out that she'd found something. Hiccup looked over her shoulder at the book. Good news. Very good news. He smiled and took the book. The three quickly left before Mr. Qwerty could come back. Merida was taking her broom back to her dorm, Rapunzel would go check on Jack but Hiccup was heading up to the Owlery.

He wasn't scared. Attacks happened often enough on Berk that fear of a location was simply ridiculous. He was smart enough to know when a problem was bigger than four students could handle and now was one of those times. It was time to call for reinforcements.

* * *

Jack stopped moaning when they reached the infirmary. Gothel came out and took him in. Jack smiled. It wouldn't do to have the real nurse see him, she would recognize the wound as a fake.

Gothel handed Jack a potion, she said it was to dull the pain, and left. Jack put the potion aside. He felt no pain in his foot or otherwise... maybe a little sore from the crash, but nothing that he couldn't handle. After a while Rapunzel showed up. She checked the entire infirmary for either Gothel or the nurse before calling out that the coast was clear.

Jack got up. Rapunzel kept watch for her mother or the nurse while Jack poked and prodded every surface he could find. Jack had a natural ability when it came to finding secret passageways, having found a good many in his first year. He theorized it was only a matter of time before he would find them all.

The secret passage in the infirmary did seem fairly well hidden although Jack was sure he could find it. As he worked, he talked with Rapunzel.

"I'm sorry," he said as he prodded painting after painting, "I really didn't mean to tell your secret. It was just the shock of seeing Hiccup…I thought he was dead."

"It's okay," Rapunzel said. "I'm sorry I was so mad. It's just I hate breaking promises. When I make a promise I never break my word…except that one time. I think I was more mad at myself for breaking my word, but I took it out on you."

"Nah, I deserved it. I made a promise to you that I wouldn't tell either, and I broke that. But I can't stand fighting with you. Can we just forgive and forget?" Jack asked, moving on to tap on the bricks.

"Sure. And I'll keep all my promises from now on," Rapunzel said with a smile.

"I have to ask you though. When I told your mother I knew about your hair, she said you couldn't use it without transferring the injury to yourself. Is that true?"

"What? No. It heals anything, even old age; the only side effect is the glow. Why would Mother tell you that?" Rapunzel's brow creased.

"Maybe Hiccup was right, and her intentions aren't so pur-"

"Don't you start that! Hiccup apologized."

"Okay, okay! It was only a thought," Jack said, tapping the floor. Suddenly he heard something. Gesturing for Rapunzel to be quiet he heard a crying…it seemed to be coming from behind one of the beds. Jack moved the bed and tapped the floor.

He felt it. There was air rushing beneath this tile. Casting the revealing spell, the floor shifted until there was a staircase leading down. Jack started to descend. Rapunzel grabbed his arm.

"Wait, you don't know what's down there," she said.

"Camicazi is down there. That's all that matters," Jack replied. Rapunzel let go of his arm. He grabbed his broom, just in case he had to make a quick retreat, and headed down into the dark.

* * *

Merida ran to her dorm room, ditched her broom and grabbed her bow, quiver of arrows and a candle. She had no idea if they would be effective against a Fearling but she wasn't about to go charging after the lost girl unarmed and in the dark. Her weapons gathered, Merida charged off to the infirmary determined to help her friends.

When Merida reached the infirmary, she found Rapunzel sitting on a bed.

"Where's Jack?" Merida demanded.

"Down the rabbit hole," Rapunzel replied casting a spell to reveal the secret stairway.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? We can't let him go alone. We've got to go after him."

"But how? What can I do against a Fearling?"

"What? Have you forgotten how your hair saved us last time? You're the strongest witch in the entire school. We need you."

"But what if Mother's right? What if I am too weak to handle myself? What if I end up doing something stupid and getting the rest of you hurt? I couldn't bear it."

"What's gotten into you, lass? You'd rather let us all die down there, never knowing if you could have done something, than face your fears and fight with us?"

"No. Okay. I'll do it," Rapunzel said finally. She jumped off the bed.

"That's th' Rapunzel I know," Merida smiled. Rapunzel started to go down the stairs, but Merida stopped her.

"Wait, just because your hair makes you powerful doesn't mean you should go unarmed."

"But I haven't got any weapons," Rapunzel protested.

"Do you have anything heavy? Something you could use to hit someone with?" Merida asked. Rapunzel thought for a moment, then nodded and ran off to her room. She returned a minute later wielding her frying pan.

"Perfect," Merida smiled and the two went down into the tunnel.

The passageway was dark, even darker than the woods had been last year. Merida lit her candle so they could see where they were going. The passageway was long, longer than either girl expected. When they were a good way down the candle blew out.

"Got a match?" Merida asked.

"Sorry, no," Rapunzel said, clearly frightened. "Should I go get one?"

"Nah, we got your hair, just sin-" Merida stopped talking as a blue light shown nearby, "Forget it, we can just follow the wisps."

Merida chased after the little blue creature. She had only seen wisps twice in her life, once when she was a toddler, scared in the woods; the second time just last year, they had led her to an ambush by Slytherin students. The wisps are said to lead people to their fate. The first time her fate was her family, the second time, the fate they had let her to was a friendship with Jack Frost. Merida trusted the wisps unquestionably. They would lead her to Jack and the Slytherin girl.

One by one the wisps appeared, leading Merida and Rapunzel deeper into the school. At last the wisps stopped coming, leaving the girls in a room which didn't seem as dark as the tunnel had been. There was a faint glow coming from a corner. Merida and Rapunzel focused on it. Jack Frost!

They rushed to the boy. He was out cold, his broomstick lying carelessly next to him. Merida shook him.

"Ugh, Jack, now is not a time for sleeping. Wake up," she cried. Rapunzel looked him over.

"He doesn't appear to be hurt," Rapunzel said. Jack chose that moment to stir.

"Wh…Wh..what happened?" he asked sitting up, rubbing his head.

"We found you out cold. Were you attacked?" Merida asked, handing Jack his broom.

"No…I don't think so. I came down here and I saw Camicazi, and then I just got so tired, I must have blacked out." Jack took his broom and stood up. The twigs at the bottom were starting to crack from having it be used as a cane so much recently. Soon it wouldn't be a broom at all, but merely a staff. Jack's eyes widened, "Where is Camicazi?"

"We didn't see her," Rapunzel said.

Merida looked around. It was dark, but the faint glow, which she now realized was coming from Jack's broom, illuminated the room enough.

"Is that supposed to glow?" Merida asked.

Jack shrugged, "It's been acting a little weird since last year. Must have something to do with being in the Dark Forest for so long."

Jack held his broom higher, and they could make out a dark shape in the opposite corner.

The trio raced over. There, lying on the ground in obvious pain, was little Camicazi. She twisted and wriggled, her pale skin and blonde hair darkening.

"H...h…help me," she choked out. Jack reached for her, but just as his hands touched her, she dissolved into shadows, shadows that were fast becoming a Fearling.

"NOOOO!" Jack screamed, then his scream turned into sobs, "No, no, you can't leave. I can't have failed you…"

Merida looked around, the Fearling in Camicazi's place was still wriggling like the girl had been, but Merida was afraid the thing might attack them after it completed its transformation.

"Jack, we should get out of here," Merida said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Jack flipped on her.

"NO! I won't leave her!" Jack yelled. Merida thought about asking Rapunzel if she could use her hair, but she wasn't sure what effect it would have on the shadow creatures, and she doubted that hurting Camicazi, even a Fearling Camicazi, would help get Jack to leave.

"Come on. You can't do anything for her now, let's get out of here. We can tell the professors, let them handle it. We found the lair."

"NO!" Jack shook his head. "You don't understand! She believed in me! And I failed her."

Rapunzel stepped in.

"I want to help her too, but the best thing we can do to save her is to get an expert. It might not be too late," Rapunzel said.

Jack nodded reluctantly and got up. They turned to leave, only to find their way blocked by dozens of Fearlings.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This tale is almost over. There are only two chapters left and there will also be a bonus/preview of Year Three. Don't forget you can give out house points via https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZYRXM9C. The poll will close May 8 (if you live in the U.S.)


	20. The Rescue

Rapunzel clutched her frying pan and stared at the dark creatures around her. She was scared. But she was also sad. Having just witnessed Camicazi's transformation into one of these…these things, she felt a certain pity for what they used to be. Merida nocked her arrow. Jack raised his broom like a staff. Rapunzel lifted her frying pan.

Merida launched her arrow. It passed harmlessly through the Fearlings. Jack tried to hit them with his broom. Nothing happened. The Fearlings came closer and Rapunzel tried to hit them with her frying pan, it passed through, for how can one fight a shadow?

Rapunzel screamed and backed away. All of a sudden a light appeared behind the Fearlings. They moved away from the greenish light…Mother Gothel. Rapunzel ran to her mother. Jack and Merida were right behind her.

Rapunzel followed Gothel until they were almost at the top of the stairs, only then did she chance to turn around and see Jack and Merida were not really right behind her. They must have fallen behind.

"Hurry Rapunzel," Gothel called, reaching her hand down for the girl. Rapunzel backed away.

"Not without my friends," Rapunzel said.

"There's no time, leave them," Gothel urged. Rapunzel looked at Gothel, then turned and headed back into the Fearling-infested tunnel.

Rapunzel couldn't see, but she could hear. She heard Jack and Merida calling out for help. She followed the sound of their voices until she could see the glow of Jack's broom; there were Fearlings all around them, clawing at them. Jack and Merida were huddled in the corner. Rapunzel ran up to them. She was prepared to sing, hoping it would have the same effect on these creatures it had on the horses last year, when the room suddenly burst with light. The Fearlings backed away releasing Jack and Merida as a golden glowing man floated in from the tunnel. The man sparkled like he was made out of sand. Stepping out from behind him was Hiccup.

The Fearlings tried to flee, but the small plump man was faster. He sent out whips of a golden material, the same his clothes radiated with. Each time one hit a Fearling it started changing back. They twisted and turned until the room was filled with a dozen confused looking kids, including Camicazi.

Jack rushed over to the little Slytherin.

"Friends," Hiccup said, "I'd like you to meet Sanderson Mansnoozie."

The man made a hat of his glowing material and tipped it. Rapunzel giggled a little before the man blew some of the stuff into her eyes. Instantly she fell asleep…

* * *

Hiccup was the only person in the room not put to sleep, besides Sanderson at least. The book Hiccup and Rapunzel had found in the library was all about Fearlings. It mentioned that only one person was known to have successfully cured the Fearling curse. Hiccup had promptly gone to summon him.

Hiccup had to trust that the owls would know where to find Sanderson. The book had said the wizard lived on an island. Hiccup had scribbled a simple message, " _HELP! Fearlings at Hogwarts!"_

Hiccup was planning to go get other professors while he waited for Sanderson's reply, but the man floated into the tower before Hiccup had even reached the staircase out of the owlery.

Hiccup had never met a wizard who could fly on a cloud of sand before but the urgency of the situation outweighed all of his curiosity. Hiccup led the man to the infirmary while explaining the situation.

He was quite surprised to see how easily the Fearlings were changed back, but even more so to see his friends put to sleep.

"Was that really necessary?" Hiccup asked the little man. Sanderson nodded, then an image made of his strange sand appeared overhead, it was of a wand with the sorting hat over it. Hiccup guessed it might be symbolizing a professor.

"Should I go get someone?" Hiccup asked. "Another professor? The headmaster?"

Sandy nodded vehemently. Hiccup took off. Sanderson had left a wisp of his glowing sand trailing through the tunnel as they entered so they would be able to find their way back. As Hiccup reached the mouth of the passage he ran smack dab into Gothel.

"Where's Rapunzel?!" Gothel demanded, grabbing onto Hiccup's shoulders, shaking him. The boy pushed her off.

"She's safe with Sanderson. I need to get to a professor," Hiccup started to go before turning back to Gothel, "and don't think I don't know what you've been doing. I might not be able to prove anything, but Rapunzel is my friend, and I'm going to look out for her no matter what. You'd better treat her right."

Hiccup wasn't actually sure what Gothel had been doing. Acting suspicious for sure. Being at the scene of the crime, too. And lying. But it was all circumstantial. He would have to hope that Gothel didn't realize just how little he knew so she would take his threat seriously. Hiccup left Gothel and went to gather the other professors.

He didn't have to look very far to find them. Professors Toothiana, Bunnymund, Lunanoff, Headmaster Ombric and a woman Hiccup had never seen before were marching down to the infirmary. Hiccup got their attention and led them all back to help rescue the victims.

While the rescue party worked on carrying the sleeping children up into the infirmary beds, Hiccup kept his eye on Gothel. She paced nervously as children were brought up. Gothel barely batted an eye at the children, until Rapunzel was brought out.

The second the sleeping Rapunzel was pulled out Gothel was at her side. Gothel shooed the others away and stayed with Rapunzel, ignoring all others. Hiccup watched her for a while. She seemed to truly care about the girl; at the very least she seemed grateful that Rapunzel had escaped unharmed.

Maybe his suspicions were wrong. Maybe Gothel had legitimate reasons for lying to Jack. Maybe she didn't know that Professor Ombric had sent a letter to his father instead of going in person. Maybe when she sent Jack down to Pitch she didn't realize Pitch could be the one doing harm.

Hiccup would remain suspicious of her, but so long as Rapunzel was happy and the school remained safe, he would give Gothel the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

Jack's eyes flickered open for the second time that day. He was in the infirmary. Sitting next to his bed was Hiccup. Jack blinked. His head felt clearer than it ever had before.

"How are ya doin', buddy?" Hiccup asked. Jack just blinked. Hiccup continued, "Sandy checked you over. He figured out why you kept blacking out. There was a bit of… something, not sure exactly what, in you. He indicated that it was related to what caused the Fearlings. It wasn't strong enough for a true possession, or strong enough to turn you into a Fearling, but it could manipulate your emotions slightly, and make you tired. It had more control after you were asleep. Sandy got it all out, so you won't be blacking out again."

"How?" Jack asked sitting up. "How did it get in me? I've been blacking out since before people started disappearing."

"He said it was likely someone slipped it to you in your food or a drink. Do you remember having any odd potions?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure…," Jack said feeling more awake, "Professor Black gives them to me all the time. Hiccup, where's Camicazi, and the other Fearlings?"

"Sandy changed them all back. They're resting in the other beds." Hiccup gestured to the rest of the infirmary.

"So, everyone is going to be alright?"

"Maybe. There are some side effects with the transformation; they seem to all have lost their magic ability…although he suspects a few of the Fearlings were muggles to begin with. Sandy's working on reversing the effects, but it's likely they'll all have to go to a wizard hospital. Rest, Jack. You've had that Fearling thing in you for half a year. Your body needs to adjust." Jack nodded and fell into a peaceful sleep, dreaming of dolphins playing in snow.

* * *

Gothel and Pitch watched from the shadows.

"You failed me. Again," Pitch said.

"It wasn't my fault! Rapunzel ran back in there! What about your Fearlings? Weren't they supposed to destroy the other two before she could save them?"

"Why did you let Sandman get to them? You should have stopped him."

"How? That Hiccup boy led him straight to the others using a tracing spell. I couldn't try to deter him without looking suspicious. Besides, you didn't plan on him getting help. You thought they would all charge in."

"So typical of children to charge in without thinking of asking for help. That boy is a little too bright. There will be an investigation. Now that the students have been found I doubt they will close the school. The one consolation is all the fear I've gathered. It should be enough to resupply me. Still, I'll need to move my army. The only thing more useful than your Rapunzel's hair against my Nightmares and Fearlings is Sandman's sand. We won't be able to attack the school outright like this so long as he's here."

"So what do we do?" Gothel asked.

"Come up with a plan…I would very much like to thwart those four students. They have gotten in my way far too often. Next year... next year I think I shall focus on destroying them. If you wish to remain at Hogwarts, and if you wish to keep control of your precious flower, I suggest you do the same."

* * *

The days passed quickly. Merida had received no injuries, so after a twenty-four hour wait in the infirmary, just to make sure, she was free to go. Sanderson Mansnoozie stayed on for the rest of the year. He thoroughly cleansed the school of all that was dark. The students soon became accustomed to seeing his golden sand winding down hallways, checking dark corners to make sure they were safe.

The restrictions soon lifted. Now that they knew how to reverse the Fearling process the fear ebbed. The fact that all the students were found alive and the fact that there had not been a disappearance since before Christmas all led to a generally happy mood. Besides, ever since Sanderson got there, everyone was having good dreams.

Most of the students who had been turned into Fearlings were transferred to long term hospitals, all but Camicazi. The girl had not been a Fearling for very long and she still seemed to have some magical ability, though the incident did seem to have weakened her.

Merida would have loved to spend some more time with the girl, despite the fact that she was a Slytherin. The Gryffindors were a competitive lot, and always good for a fight, but Camicazi was the only girl in the entire school who was as good at sword fighting as Merida. Unfortunately, classes were still in session and with letters coming frequently from home Merida had very little time to play.

In fact, it seemed that no one did. The professors were really stepping up their game to cram everything in before the term ended, and they had a lot to cover. Lessons may have been going on before but everyone, professors included, had been too frightened to concentrate.

With lessons so heavy, Easter seemed to sneak up on the students. This year, besides studying for finals, the students also had to select their classes for next year. Jack, Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel often met up in their club room to discuss plans.

Hiccup was considering taking Ancient Runes, just to see the difference between Berk Runes and what the school taught. Jack and Merida were both appalled at this idea, saying it would be the same as either of them taking Muggle Studies.

Although Jack WAS considering taking Muggle Studies, though he refused to tell anyone why. Merida rolled her eyes. She knew she didn't want to take Muggle Studies. She also knew she didn't want to take a boring language like Ancient Runes or the number magic Arithmancy, which just left Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. She supposed they could both be decent. Hiccup and Rapunzel were planning to take Care of Magical Creatures as well. Jack didn't have much interest in creatures, magical or otherwise.

Merida scoffed, "But you're a shepherd."

Jack just shrugged and smiled; to him it was about the fun, not the animal. He wasn't being very decisive in his class schedule either, unsure of what he wanted. Rapunzel and Hiccup had the opposite problem.

Both of them wanted to take everything. Eventually they had to make a decision though.

Soon all their classes were signed up for, all the Easter eggs hunted and they were back in class. Classes sped on at an alarming rate, week after week it was nothing but reviews for the finals.

Professor Bunnymund was exceedingly picky; it seemed that one of the things second years were supposed to be able to do was transfigure bunnies into slippers, however Bunnymund seemed to think transfiguring bunnies was exceptionally cruel, and he didn't want to degrade the rabbits by making them into shoes. He still taught the spell, but said anyone caught practicing it without good reason would lose 50 house points for cruelty to animals. Merida was just relieved she didn't have yet another thing to study.

When she wasn't busy studying for finals, she had to be studying princess lessons. Eventually the day came and Merida took her tests, along with everyone else, and then they finally got to relax for the last week of the term.

Merida was alone relaxing in the club room after her finals when Jack stepped in. She pretended to look annoyed, but she wasn't really. Jack cautiously approached.

"Uh, I don't know where to start," Jack said slowly. He pulled out a piece of parchment. "Miss Merida of DunBrough, I believe I owe you a paper, and I always pay my debts."

Jack cleared his throat. Merida had forgotten about the bet they made at Diagon Alley. That day seemed to be a lifetime ago. Now it was all coming back to her, she was surprised Jack remembered.

"Gryffindors tend to be brave, like you, princess, bravely befriending a Slytherin…after a very long time of resisting, but still you did it. Gryffindors are also daring, no one else would sneak out to follow a professor just for the fun of it. You have great nerve…no one else would charge into a Fearling infested room to save someone she barely even likes."

Jack continued, his list praising her, more than her house. Merida couldn't stop blushing.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter of this story left. This is your last chance to vote for the House Cup winner, if you want to. The poll will close this Thursday.
> 
> https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZYRXM9C
> 
> Special thanks to Yassoda for lettng me know I had it set up incorrectly. I wanted people to be able to vote multiple times but I had it set up to allow you to vote only once. I have changed it so if you voted before and want to do it again, you should now be able to.


	21. Going Home

Jack returned to the Slytherin Common Room after reading the list of Gryffindor Virtues to Merida. After the Fearlings had been changed back he told Sanderson Mansnoozie, as well as the headmaster, about his ice powers. They didn't know how he came to have such powers, but assured him that it would be impossible for him to have turned the students into Fearlings. They knew of only one wizard on earth who was dark enough to make a Fearling, though they wouldn't tell Jack who. After a short talk with Professor Black, Jack was allowed back into the regular dormitory.

"So, how did it go?" Camicazi asked.

"Horrible. She took it all to heart. It'll be impossible to live with her now. I just hope Gryffindor doesn't win the house cup, or I might have to drop out. Anyway, glad it's over."

"Now you can work on what you promised with me," Camicazi said. Jack gave her a mischievous grin.

"I got it all planned. The question is…should we do it this year?"

"We have to if you want my help. My mother is unhappy that the person changing everyone wasn't caught. She said I'm transferring to Durmstrang next year."

"Not you, too!" Jack said, thinking of Flynn. "If you go I won't have a friend in Slytherin."

"Don't worry, Jack. You're great with kids. Maybe the next generation of first years will like you."

"I don't know, few are as brave as you. If Derek gets to them first…"

"I'll still be your friend, even if we aren't in the same school. You can always write to me."

"Like that works…" Jack muttered to himself. "Thanks anyway."

"Cheer up, Jack. I will write to you, I promise. And you still have your other friends, the Hooligan and the Scot…and that other girl who works in the hospital wing."

"Rapunzel. Her name is Rapunzel."

"Whatever. I know you're friends, but I don't think I've even seen the girl…unless you count right after the Fearling thing, but even then I never got a good look at her. Whoever her boss is, he sure keeps her busy." Camicazi went on to talk about all the things she wanted to do before leaving Hogwarts, but Jack stopped paying attention.

Camicazi had reminded Jack that Rapunzel was being run ragged, not by a boss but by her mother. Even though they had found the missing students and he had proved his innocence, Rapunzel still needed help.

Jack made up an excuse to Camicazi and left the Slytherin Dungeon. He marched straight up to the infirmary, walking past the nurse straight to the room Rapunzel and Gothel shared. Gothel was there alone. Perfect.

"Hey!" Jack said, flinging open the door. Gothel froze, staring at the thirteen year old. Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing? Rapunzel's not here."

"I don't care. I'm not here for her, Gothel. I'm here for you. You're going to give Rapunzel more freedom, got it?"

"Oh?" Gothel laughed. "And how do you plan to enforce that? Use your frost? Try that and you'll be expelled."

"No. And I'm not even going to ask how you knew I called it frost. You're going to give Rapunzel more freedom, or I'm going to tell everyone that you're using her hair to keep yourself young."

Gothel froze. Jack smirked.

"That's right, I know. I'm not asking for much. Just for you to let Rapunzel go back to Ravenclaw Tower, and let her start eating in the Great Hall again, and let her spend her free time anywhere she wants. And if I hear any complaints, or notice anything at all unusual about Rapunzel, I'll tell everyone what you've been up to."

Gothel gave him a very cold hard look, "You don't know what you're saying. Everything I've done, I've done for her. If you persist in this you'll be putting Rapunzel in danger."

"If you had a good reason for using Rapunzel's hair, you wouldn't care if I told anyone. If you cared for her, you would be trying to make her happy, not keep her locked up, away from friends and family. Rapunzel better be happy the next time I see her, or else."

Jack glared at Gothel one last time before storming out of the infirmary. As he reached the corridor outside of the infirmary, Jack leaned up against a wall and gave a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected Gothel to just take it… he really thought he would have to fight harder. Apparently her fear of people finding out what she was doing to the girl was stronger than her fear of giving the girl some freedom. Jack was glad. Even though he was expecting more of a fight, he wasn't sure he could have won.

Jack decided to go to the kitchens for a celebratory snack. He was just climbing out from behind the painting of the bowl of fruit with a keet in his hand when he ran into Hiccup.

"Jack. I've been looking all over for you," Hiccup said.

"Oh?" Jack ate the keet in one bite. He meant to say 'what for' but it came out like, "Muht more?"

"I have some news for you. I researched Flynn Rider for you."

"And?" Jack asked, staring at Hiccup in disbelief.

"I had someone look into it….Jack, there is no Flynn Rider."

"What? But you met him, Merida met him. He was-"

"I know. I'm not denying he was a real person, but I doubt Flynn Rider was his real name. There has never been a Flynn Rider at school. I went even further and searched for him all around. Jack, there is no record of Flynn Rider in all of Europe. I'm going to keep searching, but I thought you should know."

Jack didn't respond as he processed the information. How could Flynn not be truthful with him? They weren't best friends…but he thought they were at least good friends. During one of his detentions Pitch had suggested Flynn wasn't truthful with Jack, could he have been right?

Hiccup reached out and put his hand on Jack's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? I'm fine," Jack replied, "I just…I need a minute. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Hiccup nodded and Jack left for the Slytherin Dungeons. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad about this. Yes Flynn was lying…but it meant Pitch was lying too. Maybe Flynn had a good reason to lie. Maybe if Jack could figure out why he was using a fake name, he would be able to find Flynn. Maybe Flynn had a better reason for ignoring Jack than just not wanting to be friends.

* * *

Rapunzel twisted her hair as she stood outside the infirmary pacing. Today she was going to do it. Today she was going to ask Mother to go back to Ravenclaw Tower. Ever since the Fearlings had been restored, Rapunzel had been begging mother to let her go back to the tower, but Gothel had always put it off, 'Just one more day, Rapunzel. One more day to make sure."

One more day had turned to one more week and one more month, and Rapunzel was afraid if she didn't put her foot down now it would turn into one more year. She couldn't take that. So now she paced and practiced rehearsing what she wanted to say.

Today was the day. After rehearsing for the 15th time, Rapunzel swallowed hard and opened the door, marching straight to Gothel. Mother Gothel was sitting on her bed, staring at her boots.

"Mother," Rapunzel started, trying to sound as confident as possible, "You said…you said…"

Rapunzel's bravery failed her for a moment. She swallowed, she could do this.

"Mother, you said I only had to live with you until Clarisse was found. They found her over a month ago…can I please go back to Ravenclaw?"

"Oh Rapunzel…" Gothel sighed, "you can do whatever you want."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked happily.

"Of course…do what you want, Rapunzel. I love you very much."

"I love you more," Rapunzel said, going to hug her mother.

"I love you most," Gothel said, nuzzling her face in Rapunzel's hair. "And if you ever want to come back…well, I'll always be here."

"I know, Mother, and I will. I promise, if I need help, I'll come to you," Rapunzel smiled and went to pack her things. That had gone a lot better than she thought. Of course her friends were wrong; Gothel was only looking out for what was best for her. Rapunzel smiled. Now that she was going back to Ravenclaw Tower, even if it was only for the last week, she was happy.

* * *

Hiccup was sitting in the Great Hall for the End of the Year Feast, admiring the decorations.

Green for Slytherin this year. Jack wouldn't stop bragging, especially to Merida.

Everyone clapped for the winning house, and the feast was just about to appear when a first year gave an excited cry.

"It's snowing! In June!" The first year pointed at the ceiling. Hiccup looked up. At first he thought the 'snow' was the enchanted ceiling, perhaps a special enchantment for the end of the year, but then Hiccup realized the 'snow' really was falling down into the room, landing on the table. A delicate flake landed on his nose. It wasn't cold at all. Hiccup picked it up and sniffed.

"Soap?" he asked. Sure enough all the snowflakes falling into the room were made of soap. The soap flakes came down faster and faster, swirling around all the tables. Children laughed as they scooped up large handfuls of the stuff and started soapball fights, or building soapmen, making soapangels. More soap flakes dropped down, this was a full-on soap blizzard. A ball of soap hit him in the back of the head, Hiccup flipped around, standing at the opposite corner of the room, a large grin on his face, was Jack Frost.

It figured Jack was behind this. So that's what he and Camicazi were planning all year. Jack whipped out soapball after soapball, managing to hit every student in the entire hall. Hiccup eventually joined in, and it became house against house, though by the end there was so much soap in the room that all the house colors were covered. By the end of the soap fight, nobody could tell whose house was whose; it just felt like one great big united Hogwarts family.

* * *

Merida led the way as the foursome found a cabin on the train going home. Jack had invited Camicazi to join them, but the girl had declined, preferring to spend her last day as a Hogwarts student with her first year friends.

Merida and Rapunzel sat on one side of the cabin, Jack and Hiccup took the other side. As the train started out they discussed their grades. Hiccup did much better this year than last year, although he still struggled with some of the more mechanical aspects. He knew the spells, but didn't have the coordination to cast them properly, not to mention he spent half of the year trying to solve mysteries instead of practicing his spell casting. Jack had not improved much since last year. He still passed everything, but the one class he truly excelled in last year was flying, and that wasn't taken by second years.

Rapunzel struggled this year quite a bit more than she had last year. Merida chalked it up to Mother Gothel. Merida knew if her mother was at school she wouldn't be doing all that well either. She struggled enough just from the letters her mother had sent detailing all the extra things she was supposed to be learning.

Merida hadn't done too badly this year, actually. She still couldn't focus enough to get straight A's or anything, but her practical application of spells was pretty good and helped boost her grade.

Eventually the conversation turned away from grades to something fun and before they knew it, they were rolling into the train station. As they disembarked together Merida searched for her parents. She spotted Queen Elinor by the Fireplaces.

"Okay, you guys, we can't wait until next year to hang out," Merida said. "You've got to visit Castle DunBroch."

"Oh, cool!" Jack said. "I've never been in a real castle."

"Stop being ridiculous, Hogwarts is a castle, and it's mighty similar to DunBroch," Merida scolded lightly. Just then Merida's mother and Hiccup's father came over and the four had to split up. Merida watched as her friends departed. Gothel had gone home via Floo Powder straight from Hogwarts to the tower in the glen. She had asked Rapunzel to go with her, but Rapunzel refused, preferring to take the train with her friends. Now she had to use the Floo Powder alone. Jack was also taking the Floo alone, saying his mother had to stay at home with his sister. Merida got one wave in before they disappeared into different chimneys. Hiccup and his father didn't use the chimney, leaving out the door for a six hour boat trip.

Merida gave a wave to all her friends from Gryffindor and then she and her mother took the Floo Powder back to Castle DunBroch. Merida smiled. The year may have been dangerous, but there was no doubt it had been the most exciting year of her life. Still, she was happy to be home.

* * *

"Well, isn't that a sweet ending. So everyone forgets about poor old Flynn Rider and goes home happy" –E

"We didn't forget you!" -J

"Yeah, Jack wasted his year thinking about you" - M

"You were a major plot point." –H

"Fine, fine, so I was important. By the way, what exactly is the Mystery of Mother Gothel?" –E

"That she was on Pitch's side?" –H

"That she was participating in the kidnapping and Fearling turning of students?" –M

"That she was framing me?" –J

"If I'm not mistaken, you didn't actually solve any of those mysteries" –E

"Jack found out that she was using my hair. That must count for something, and Hiccup was suspicious of her, even if he never found any proof." –R

"I don't know, this seemed to be more a mystery about Jack and the missing students, rather than Gothel." –E

"Hey, no one ever said a title had to be accurate, just look at the title _Brave._ " –J

"I was brave!" –M

"Oh yeah? When?" –J

"What about your title? _Rise of the Guardians_? More like Fall of the Guardians! " –M

"Okay, okay, enough fighting. Titles are not always accurate and mysteries are not always solved. I do remember finding out what was going on with Gothel and Pitch later, but that's a story for another day." –H

"So what now?" –M

"I guess we lived happily ever after…until next year." –J

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end, for now. I'll try to post the first chapter of the next year soon, so people can subscribe/bookmark etc. it, but school has been killing me this semester and I am not as far along in Year Three as I would like to be. I don't want to post the first chapter until I'm at least halfway into the story. Hopefully once school is out I'll be able to pump it out fast.  
> After the first chapter is posted, I will go on hiatus for a while so I can finish writing the complete first draft, then I will start updating weekly again. Sorry for the wait.
> 
> The final house point tally is: Slytherin, 48, Hufflepuff, 46, Ravenclaw, 20, and Gryffindor, 7.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who participated, commented, bookmarked or left kudos.


End file.
